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SOILING 
CROPS 



AND 

THE SILO 



How to Cultivate and Harvest the 
Crops; How to Build and Fill the 
Silo ; and How to Use Silage 

By.... A^ 

THOMAS SHAW 

Professor of Animal Husbandry at the University of Minnesota 

Author of 

"Public School Agriculture" "Weeds and How to Eradicate Them" 

"The Study of Breeds" "Forage Crops Other Than Grasses" 




ILLUSTRATED 



New York 
ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 

1900 



62242 

* OCT 17 1900 

SECCM'^ COPY. 
OnOtaO^VlSlOH, 



He 



Copyright 1900 

by 

Orange Judd Company 



<?.\^ 



^ 



TO 

THE DAIRYMEN AND FARMERS 

OF 

THE UNITED STATES 

THIS WORK IS 

MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 

BY 

THE AUTHOR 



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 



The author desires thankfully to acknowledge 
the outside sources from which aid was obtained m 
the preparation of the book. These include sundry 
bulletins issued by certain of the agricultural experi- 
ment stations in the United States, also the helpful 
work, "A Book on Silage," written by Prof. F. W. 
WoU of the University of Wisconsin. The sketches 
were nearly all prepared by Mr. Charles P. Taylor of 
the University of Minnesota. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 
PART ONE 



Chapter I. page. 

Soiling Crops ----------- 3 

Chapter II. 
Indian Corn or Maize --------- 19 

Chapter III. 
Sorghum ------------34 

Chapter IV. 
The Non-Saccharine Sorghums -------- 51 

Chapter V. 
Plants of the Clover Family --------68 

Chapter VI. 
Leguminous Plants Other Than Clover ----- 102 

Chapter VII. 
Plants of the Brassica Genus -------- I39 

Chapter vm. 
The Common Cereals --------- 168 

Chapter IX. 
Millets ------------- 183 

Chapter X. 
Field Roots - - - - - ^ - - - " " " "^95 

vii 



Vllf TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Chapter XI. 
Miscellaneous Plants ---------- 205 

Chapter XII. 
Succession in Soiling Crops -------- 332 



PART TWO 



Chapter I. page. 

The History of Siloing --------- 245 

Chapter IL i 

The Benefits from Siloing Crops ------- 258 

Chapter III. 
Facts Relating to Silo Construction ------- 269 

Chapter IV. 
Building the Silo ----------- 292 

Chapter V. 
Crops Suitable for the Silo -------- 322 

Chapter VI. 
Filling the Silo --------.._- 336 

Chapter VII. 
Feeding Silage ----------- 350 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



FIG, PAGE. 

1 The Model Shepherd — Frontispiece. 

2 Squaw Corn for Fodder -------- 20 

3 Giant Fodder Corn for Soiling ------ 27 

4 Early Amber Sorghum --------35 

5 Sorghum Grown for Soiling, First Cutting - - 43 

6 Red Kafir Corn ---------- 53 

7 Yellow Milo Maize -------- 55 

8 Brown Dhoura - ---------57 

9 Jerusalem Corn --------- 59 

10 Alfalfa, Single Plant --------- 87 

11 Alfalfa, Grown for Soiling ------ 99 

12 The Mummy Field Pea -------- 103 

13 Vetches and Oats for Soiling — Second Cutting - - 115 

14 Sheep Pasturing on Soy Beans ------ 120 

15 Soy Beans for Soiling ------- 127 

16 Sheep Pasturing on Cowpeas ------ 130 

17 Cowpeas Grown for Soiling ------ 137 

18 A Dwarf Essex Rape Plant ------- 141 

19 Dwarf Essex Rape for Soiling ------ 151 

20 Cabbage for Soiling - - - - - - - - -156 

21 Oats and Wheat for Soiling or Fodder - - - - 169 

22 Oats and Peas for Soiling ------- 178 

23 Oats First Pastured, Then Grown for Soiling - - 180 

24 German Millet for Soiling ------- 184 

25 Hungarian Millet for Soiling ------ 186 

26 Sand Vetch ----------- 219 

27 Jerusalem Artichokes -------- 227 

28 Sunflowers ----------- 229 

29 Sheep Barn with Round Silo ------ 294 

30 Section of Stave Silo -------- 296 

31 Splice of Stave with Iron Tongue ----- 303 

32 Lugs for Hoops ---------- 304 

33 Door of Stave Silo ---------306 

34 Sketch Showing Stave Silo with Shute, Ladder and 

Hand Cart ----------- 307 

35 Sketch Showing Stave Silo with Roof and Lugs Prop- 

erly Distributed --------- 309 

36 Section of Wall of Rectangular Silo ----- 310 

37 Elephant Fodder Corn -------- 324 

38 Sorghum for Silage --------- 326 

ix 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE 



This book is one of a series on agriculture 
which the author hopes to be spared to complete. It 
is designed more especially to meet the needs of 
dairymen when providing green food for their stock, 
summer and winter, but it is also intended to be 
similarly helpful to all farmers who keep domestic 
animals on the arable farm, and it is hoped that the 
student also at the agricultural college may be able to 
glean from its pages what will be helpful to him 
when prosecuting his investigations. Excellent 
information on the subject of soiling and also on that 
of the silo has been furnished by various authors, 
but in a form more or less fragmentary, irregular 
and incomplete. It has been the aim of the author 
in the present work to cover these subjects with at 
least a measurable degree of completeness and 
system. 

In writing a series of books on agriculture, it is 
not easy to avoid some repetition. In fact, it is 
practically impossible to do so. For example, when 
one book treats of forage crops other than grasses 
and is followed by a second on soiling crops and the 
silo, as in the present instance, it will be found that 
many of the crops grown for these respective uses 
are the same. They are grown on the same kinds of 
soils, and the methods of growing them are similar. 

xi 



Xll ' AUTHOR S PREFACE. 

If each treatise is to be complete in itself, the 
methods of growing these respective crops must be 
given in both, and this necessitates some repetition. 
It has been, and will be, the constant aim of the 
author, however, to avoid such repetition to the 
greatest possible extent. By combining two or more 
separate treatises in one, repetition could be almost 
entirely avoided, but the purchaser would then have 
to pay for matter in which he might not be interested 
in order to obtain that which was of special interest 
to him. Of the two plans, the author believes that 
he has chosen that which will be more advantageous 
to the general public. 

University Experiment Farm, 

St. Anthony Park, Minn., igoo. 



PART ONE 



SOILING CROPS 



CHAPTER I. 



SOILING CROPS. 



Soiling crops are those which are sown from 
time to time to furnish food for domestic animals, 
and which are to be harvested while yet immature 
and fed to them in the pasture, the paddock, the feed 
lot or the stall. Corn cut and thus fed to animals at 
any stage prior to maturity furnishes an illustration 
of a soiling food. A soiling food is, therefore, 
another name for a green food. It is not necessary 
that it shall be fed as soon as harvested, but it is 
necessary that it shall be fed in the green form. Corn 
preserved in the silo is essentially a soiling food, 
inasmuch as it is cut when immature and in that con- 
dition is fed to live stock, though it may not be fed 
for months after it has been cut, as for instance, 
when it has been preserved in the silo, hence the 
propriety of combining the subject of soiling crops 
and the silo in this treatise. 

Soiling crops differ from forage crops in that 
the former are harvested and then carried to the 
animals which consume them, whereas live stock 
gather the latter for themselves; and soiling differ 
from fodder crops in their being cut and fed green, 
whereas fodder crops are frequently harvested when 
mature or approaching maturity and are always 
fed to animals in the cured form. People 
who are disposed to follow rigidly the teachings 

3 



4 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

of the dictionaries will probably take some 
exception to these definitions, but the time has 
certainly come when more precision must be given 
to at least some of the definitions in agriculture, to 
prevent confusion of ideas. For instance, the defini- 
tion of forage crops given in our best authorities 
would make these include soiling crops also. Such 
a definition is at variance with common usage, and 
surely the popular idea when consistent and legiti- 
mate is of higher authority even than that of the 
recognized standards. 

Adaptation in Soiling Crops. — The growing of 
soiling crops is chiefly adapted to an mtensive 
cultivation. It may be better associated with the 
tillage of small rather than of large farms and is 
better adapted to localities where the population is 
crowded and markets are near, as, for instance, in 
the neighborhood of large cities. It was to be 
expected therefore that the growing of soiling foods 
would first receive attention in the east, and so it did. 
But the day is coming, and is near, when in one or the 
other of its forms it will be most extensively carried 
on also in the west, and more especially in those 
sections in which dairying prevails. 

Soiling is, of course, only necessary on farms 
on which live stock are kept more or less numerously. 
And even on these it may not be much needed when 
pastures are plentiful and succulent during the 
greater part of the grazing season. It is more needed 
in dry than in moist climates, on poor than on rich 
lands, and where milk is sought rather than beef. 

Partial and Complete Soiling. — Partial soiling 
means supplementing the pastures with green food 



SOILING CROPS. 5 

for a part of the season, as occasion may require. 
Such food may be given once a day or oftener, 
according to the needs of the animals. The chief 
object sought in partial soiling is to keep domestic 
animals abundantly supplied with palatable and 
nutritious food, when the food from the pastures is 
inadequate. And where milk production is involved 
it aims to furnish succulent food after the grass pas- 
tures have lost much of their succulence, even though 
they should still be abundant. Partial soiling is best 
adapted to a system of cultivation that is intermediate 
between the extensive and intensive systems ; that is 
to say, to a system that meets the needs of the average 
arable farm. In all countries with summer climates 
deficient in moisture it is an essential appendage and 
material help to dairying. In no other way can the 
dairyman keep up a maximum milk flow at so small 
an outlay. 

Complete soiling has reference to that system 
by which domestic animals are sustained on food fed 
to them in the stall, the feed lot, or the paddock dur- 
ing all the year. It does not imply that all the food 
so fed shall be given to the animals in the green form, 
but that green food will usually form a considerable 
portion, if not, indeed, the greater part, of the ration. 
Complete soiling is adapted to an intensive system 
of cultivation ; that is to say, where cultivable lands 
are scarce and dear, and from which it is necessary 
to obtain a maximum yield while they are being 
tilled. Its general adoption in this country where 
land is so plentiful, and in which it is relatively so 
cheap, is probably remote rather than near, notwith- 
standing that it has been practiced in some sections 



6 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

of the thickly populated countries of western Europe 
for many years. 

Benefits from Grozmng Soiling Crops. — The 
following are the more important benefits from 
growing soiling crops : i, Food supplies are increased 
in a marked degree ; 2, in various ways the waste 
in feeding is lessened; 3, animals are sustained in 
better form than where soiling is not practiced; 4, 
injury to the land through poaching is prevented ; 5, 
a salutary influence is exercised on weed eradication ; 
6, a saving in land is effected ; 7, a saving in fertility 
is effected ; 8, a saving is also effected in the item of 
fencing; 9, animal production is greatly increased; 
and, 10, the cost of keeping the family cow is 
lessened. 

Increase in Food Supplies. — Soiling enables the 
farmer to grow more food than he could by any 
other system. Usually the growth of plants is hin- 
dered in proportion to the extent to which the plants 
are pastured down while yet immature. And crops 
that are pastured are further injured by the tramping 
of the animals that feed upon them. They are injured 
directly by the bruising which they receive from the 
hoofs of the animals which feed upon them, and 
indirectly by the impaction of the land from pastur- 
ing it when not dry enough. These facts are simply 
mentioned without taking space to give the reasons. 
And since soiling crops are usually cut a little short 
of miaturity it is more practicable to grow two crops 
from the same land, where soiling is practiced, than 
where it is not. 

The relative increase in food production where 
soiling is practiced as compared with pasturage can 



SOILING CROPS. 7 

not of course be stated otherwise than in the most 
approximate manner. It will vary greatly with such 
conditions as soil and season. But it will not be 
extravagant to say that when animals are soiled all 
the year in the one instance, and when they are pas- 
tured during the seasan of pasturage, and are then 
wintered on food grown on other land in the other 
instance, a given area will sustain at least twice the 
number of animals through the year by the former 
system than it will by the latter. 

Less Waste in Feeding. — When crops are fed 
under the soiling system there is less waste than when 
pastured or fed in the matured form. This saving 
is effected, first, in the absence of injury through 
treading as compared with pasture crops ; second, in 
the absence of loss in harvesting as compared with 
matured crops ; and, third, in the more complete con- 
sumption of the food. The injury to pasture crops 
through treading has already been referred to. 

Soiling crops when judiciously managed are 
seldom so injured by the weather as to be rendered 
unfit for food. Fodder crops when matured are fre- 
quently damaged by rain when being cured. When 
thus damaged they lose in palatability, in nutrition, 
and also through mold induced by storing when not 
yet fully cured. 

The more complete consumption of food fed in 
the green form as compared with food fed when ripe, 
arises chiefly from the greater palatability of the 
former. The fodder portion of plants, that is to 
say, the stems and leaves, is always better relished by 
animals when fed before they are fully matured. For 
instance, feed rye to cattle when it has not yet reached 



8 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

the earing stage, and it will be eaten with avidity. 
Feed it when fully out in head and it will be eaten 
indifferently. Feed it when ripe and little else than 
the heads will be eaten. Feed the straw after the grain 
has been threshed, and it will be consumed by the 
animals only when impelled by hunger. Chemists 
tell us that fodder plants contain all the food ele- 
ments that they will possess at the time the ripening 
process begins, that is to say, by the time they have 
reached that stage when the stalk begins to assume 
a yellow tinge at the ground. They should be fed, 
therefore, as soiling food before they pass this stage, 
for as soon as they get beyond it there is loss in 
palatability. And there is loss in digestibility as the 
ripening stage is neared, that is to say, the propor- 
tion of the indigestible woody fiber is increased. 

On the other hand, when plants are cut when 
considerably short of maturity, there is loss from 
want of sufficient development. Theoretically, the 
most food will be got from plants when they are cut 
as soiling food a little short of maturity. In prac- 
tice, however, this is impossible, as it would too much 
curtail the length of the period for feeding each crop. 
But with crops that grow again and again, as with 
alfalfa, for instance, there is no loss probably in cut- 
ting them as soon as they have made sufficient 
growth to justify the expenditure of the labor 
involved. 

Sustains Animals in Better Form. — By the aid 
of soiling food domestic animals can be maintained 
va better form than without it. With such aid they 
can be maintained in a more even condition, the ani- 
mal energy can be more perfectly conserved, and the 



SOILING CROPS, 9 

succulence of the foods usually exercises a whole- 
some influence on the health of the stock. 

In the absence of soiling foods it is hardly pos- 
sible for the farmer to keep his animals through all 
the year in what may be termed a well balanced con- 
dition. When he depefids wholly on pastures during 
the summer season these may fail. When they do 
his animals suffer proportionately. On the other 
hand, if the pastures are superabundant there is 
waste. When pastures lose their succulence, the 
milk flow from milk-giving animals is proportion- 
ately reduced, and no after feeding will wholly 
restore it, howsoever suitable it may be. As the 
character of the season cannot be foreseen, farmers 
are wise who make provision for a possible shortage 
in pasture by sowing more or less of one or more 
crops to provide soiling food. If the best possible 
returns are to be obtained from animals, they 
must be well supplied with food every day in the 
year. When animals are fed in whole or in part 
on soiling foods, they may frequently be kept 
nearer at hand than when not so fed, hence 
their needs can be more easily met. When 
the days are hot they may be more easily 
housed. In the time of flies they may be more easily 
protected from the same by keeping them in cool, 
darkened sheds or stables during the heat of the day. 
In hot weather they can be left out in paddocks over 
night, and in cold weather they can be housed. Such 
attentions have a marked influence in maintaining 
an equilibrium of condition. 

The use of soiling foods conserves animal energy 
by lessening that waste which arises from undue 



lO SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

exertion on the part of animals when gathering their 
food. When the dairy cow has to travel far when 
seeking food in the pastures, she does so at the 
expense of food required to sustain the prolonged 
exertion. And when food is thus used to sustain 
energy it is very evident that it cannot be used to 
make milk. Likewise, wdien growing cattle have to 
travel beyond a certain limit in order to get supplies 
for the day, they do so at the expense of flesh. And 
the same is true of the horse, the sheep and the pig. 
Live stock should, of course, be given sufficient exer- 
cise to keep them healthy and to give them proper 
stamina. Beyond this, exercise means waste of food, 
and this waste can be prevented by growing a suffi- 
ciency of soiling foods. 

Soiling foods, judiciously fed, tend to keep the 
animal system in proper tone, hence thus far they 
exert a favorable influence on the health of live stock 
to which they are fed. In the absence of those foods 
it is difficult, if not impossible, to keep the system in 
the best of tone during certain periods of the year. 
Where soiling foods are not grown there can be no 
assurance of succulence in the pastures beyond the 
early summer months. Pastures will not sustain an 
undiminished milk flow in cows, even when consid- 
erably short of the yellow leaf stage. When dry 
and crisp they are a less valuable food than well cured 
hay, notwithstanding that the food may be abundant. 
On such pastures swine will soon lose flesh unless 
the pastures are supplemented with other food. By 
growing succulent foods in due succession and in 
adequate sufficiency they may be made available for 
live stock in one form or the other during a large 



SOILING CROPS, 1 1 

part of the year, if not, indeed, through the whole 
year ; hence the beneficial influence which they exert 
on the health of the animals may be made continually 
operative. But there are other senses in which the 
soiling system may become prejudicial to the health 
of the animals. These are discussed on Page i8. 

Injury Through Poaching. — When the soiling 
system is practiced, lands are not injured by poach- 
ing, that is, by the treading of the animals when the 
hoofs sink below the surface of the land. On all 
soils poaching is to some extent harmful, and on clays 
it is quite harjnful, since impaction follows on the 
return of dry weather to the very great injury to the 
growth of the grasses. As no person can control 
the weather, the farmer who is dependent on pastures 
only to provide food for his live stock in the season 
of growth must needs allow them to feed upon the 
pastures betimes when they will injure them by 
treading; and it may be added that close grazing in 
very dry weather may seriously injure pastures. 
Particularly is this true of pastures in some parts of 
the dry west. The farmer without soiling food may 
be powerless to prevent such a result. 

Influence on Weed Eradication. — The soiling 
system may be made to render material aid in eradi- 
cating Aveeds. This arises, first, from the thickness 
with which the food may be grown; second, from 
the season at which much of it may be sown ; and, 
third, from the immature period at which it is reaped. 

Soiling food ma}^ be sown more thickly rela- 
tively than if the same plant or plants were sown to 
produce a matured crop of seeds. Such sowing 
secures more of fineness in the food, and in 



12 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

consequence more of palatability. The food thus 
grown crowds weeds because of its thickness, and 
also hinders their development because of the density 
of the shade. 

Soiling food may be sown at different seasons 
because of the difference in the habits of the plants 
thus grown. Several varieties may be sown late. 
When these varieties are thus sown, ample time is 
given to sprout and in turn to destroy myriads of 
weed seeds that may be in the upper section of the 
tillable soil. In fact, where such cultivation is what 
it ought to be, the ground will be comparatively clean 
before the crop is grown or planted. 

As soiling foods are cut while yet immature, the 
weeds wdiich grow in them have not the same chance 
to mature as though the crop had been allowed to 
stand until fully ripe. Notably is this true of soil- 
ing crops that are sown reasonably early. And when 
these are removed early in the season, another soil- 
ing crop, or a catch crop of some kind may be made 
to follow the first one. This second crop will also 
be helpful to the cleaning of the land. 

Saving in Land. — Growing soiling foods effects 
a great saving in land, as it enables the grower to 
raise much more food from a given area. The sav- 
ing thus effected is greater relatively in the west and 
south than in the east and north. This arises from 
the greater relative adaptability of the east and north 
to the growing of grass pastures, and from the 
greater relative adaptability of the west and south 
to the growing of soiling foods. The extent of the 
saving will vary with the conditions. But it would 
not be extravagant to say that ordinarily where 



SOILING CROPS. 13 

three acres of grass are required to keep a milch cow 
in good form for six months, it would be possible 
to grow enough soiling food to keep the same cow 
all the year. In some sections of the prairie in the 
far west, where cultivated grasses have not been 
grown with marked success, the difference would be 
even greater. In instances, not a few, it has been 
found possible to grow ample supplies of food on one 
acre by the soiling system to feed a cow all year. 
As the population becomes more dense, and as popu- 
lous cities multiply, the saving in land effected by 
soiling in either of its forms will increase in impor- 
tance, and more in the neighborhood of large cities 
than elsewhere. 

Saving in Fences. — Growing soiling foods les- 
sens the necessity for building fences on farms on 
which live stock are kept. A marked saving is thus 
effected in labor and money, the extent of the saving 
being proportional to the number of animals kept, 
to the cost of labor and materials for fencing. Unless 
where the materials for fencing are very cheap, it is 
a costly affair, both to build and to maintain fences. 
It is seldom that any kind of fence, strong enough 
to secure cattle, can be built for less than twenty-five 
to fifty cents per rod, when labor and material are 
included, and in some instances the outlay would be 
much greater. This outlay, or much of it, must 
needs be repeated at least every other decade, to say 
nothing of the sums paid out from time to time in 
repairs. There is also the further objection that on 
the strip of land on which the fence stands, weeds 
are much prone to grow, unless considerable hand 
labor is expended in keeping them down. 



14 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

On the other hand, we must not assume that the 
soiHng system will entirely obviate the necessity for 
fences. Theoretically, where complete soiling is 
carried on no fencing would be required other than 
that used in enclosing the yards and paddocks in 
which the animals are to be exercised, or in 
which they are to be kept over night in w^arm 
weather. But this idea must not be pressed too far, 
for where sufficient stamina in live stock are to be 
maintained, animals must have exercise beyond what 
they will voluntarily take in small paddocks. 

Saz'ing in Fertility. — The soiling system effects 
a great saving in fertility, since it enables the farmer 
to make more and better manure than can be obtained 
from live stock kept on the pasturing system, and 
less of Avhat is thus made is w^asted. More manure 
is made, first, because the animals are at all times on 
full feed, whereas on pasture they are frequently on 
short supplies, and, second, because by the soiling 
system a greater number of animals can be sustained 
on a given area. The manure made is likely to be 
more valuable, since along with soiling food greater 
quantities of meal, rich in the elements of plant 
growth, are usually fed. And there is less waste in 
the manure made if properly saved, since its value is 
not then impaired by insects and other adverse influ- 
ences, as it is when dropped in the field. In many 
instances the soiling system will enable the farmer 
to more than double the value of the manurial prod- 
uct made, as it enables him to more than double the 
supplies of food grown. 

Increase in Animal Production. — Such a system 
cannot fail to increase animal production. The 



SOILING CROPS. 15 

extent of this increase Avill be in proportion to its 
completeness. If it increases the food products 100 
per cent, it will also increase the milk or meat pro- 
duction more than 100 per cent, since the animals 
maintained will be increased proportionately. They 
will also be maintained on foods at all times ample 
in quantity and of correct adaptation. These influ- 
ences will tend to a further increase of production. 
The greater outlay involved, however, in securing 
this added increase should never be lost sight of. 

Sustaining the Family Cow. — In villages, in 
suburbs of towns and cities, quite a number of the 
inhabitants keep cows. To such people the cow is 
a source of untold blessing, because of the utility of 
the product which she gives. Oftentimes those peo- 
ple are unable to secure adequate pastures. This 
difficulty may easily be overcome when the owner of 
a cow possesses a small piece of land. He can then 
supplement the pastures by growing soiling foods, 
and with great advantage to both cow and land. 
Where but one cow is kept, a small area will suffice 
to supply her needs. 

Some Objections to the Soiling System. — To 
the soiling system there are some objections. Chief 
among these are the following: i, It involves 
increased outlay for labor; 2, it requires more con- 
stant attention on the part of the attendants ; 3, it is 
not always easy to adjust the food supplies to the 
needs of the animals, and, 4, it may, in some instances, 
tend to impair the stamina of live stock. 

Increased Outlay for Labor. — The soiling sys- 
tem cannot be adopted in either of its forms without 
a considerable increase in the labor of those who care 



l6 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

for the live stock so fed. Even in the partial form, 
increase in labor is considerable. In the complete 
form, it is much greater; and of course increase in 
labor involves a corresponding increase in outlay. 
The increase in labor arises, first, from the necessity 
for cutting the food daily, or at intervals of not more 
than two or three da3^s ; second, from the necessity 
for handling and conveying it to the animals in the 
green form; third, from the necessity for feeding 
and otherwise caring for the animals from day to 
day in the pasture, paddock, shed or stall ; fourth, in 
caring for the yards or paddocks and in handling 
the manure. From the sum of this labor, however, 
in making the comparison, there should be deducted 
the less amount of the labor necessary in providing 
fencing. Notwithstanding, the extra labor involved, 
and the increased expenditure resulting therefrom, 
is the one great standing hindrance in the way of the 
more general adoption of the system of complete 
soiling by the farmers of this country. Nor is the 
adoption of complete soiling likely to become general 
until farm labor becomes cheaper and until land 
becomes scarcer and dearer. But beyond all ques- 
tion, in the opinion of the writer, the day is not very 
far distant when complete soiling will be practiced 
by a considerable number of the farmers in every 
state of the Union. 

Partial soiling does not involve nearly so much 
labor as complete soiling, hence it is practiced by a 
greater number of farmers. Dairymen, especially, 
cannot well get along without it. The necessity for 
thus growing and feeding food to supplement the 
pastures increases with the dryness of the climate. So 



SOILING CROPS. ,17 

essential is it to the highest success in raising and 
properly maintaining farm stock that it must even- 
tually be practiced by all or nearly all farmers who 
do not follow the system of complete soiling. 

Tax on Attendants. — Where complete soiling 
is carried on, th-e care of the animals must be con- 
tinuous throughout the season. Every day thereof 
brings its round of duties, and they cannot be neg- 
lected except at the expense of the live stock. Food 
must be secured for the animals with unfailing regu- 
larity, it must be fed to them every day, and usually 
two or three times a day. To the average farm 
laborer this work savors so much of the treadmill 
order that it is distasteful. He looks upon it in the 
light of a yoke which he does not care to take upon 
himself. Hence, until those better days come when 
such labor will be looked upon through a proper lens, 
for it has its compensations, the adoption of the 
soiling system in either form will be relatively slow. 

Adjusting Food Supplies. — Complete soiling 
calls for the exercise of much thought in securing 
food supplies and in adjusting them to the needs of 
the animals. There must needs be succession in 
foods to keep up a constant supply. No one food is 
at its best for soiling uses for many weeks in succes- 
sion. There must also be variety in the foods thus 
grown in succession. This is essential to the well- 
being of the animals to w^hich the foods are fed. It is 
further rendered imperative by the different periods 
of the year when various plants grow and mature 
sufficiently for being fed at their best. A supply 
of these foods must always be on hand through 
sunshine and storm. In some instances, however, 



l8 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

showers fall frequently and for days in succession, 
so that it may not be easy to secure food supplies 
unless when soaked with rain; and it may be also 
more or less soiled with earth. To properly adjust 
these matters in the face of varying seasons is no 
easy task. It cannot be done without the exercise 
of much forethought. 

Impaired Stamina in the Stock. — While, as has 
been shown, the soiling system tends to promote 
good health in live stock, it may easily be so con- 
ducted as to ultimately injure stamina in the animals 
subjected to its conditions. Up to a certain limit, 
utility in live stock is improved through artificial 
conditions. Beyond this limit, stamina are weak- 
ened. AVhere the border line runs between the most 
approved conditions of environment and conditions 
that lead to deterioration, is not always easily deter- 
mined. Unnecessary exertion on the part of animals 
when getting this food lessens production. Insuffi- 
cient exertion lessens stamina. Under the complete 
soiling system the individual must guard against 
undue confinement of the animals, or their natural 
vigor will wane. All history and experience pomt 
to increased mortality among animals and also 
among men in proportion as they are aggregated 
under conditions of much restraint. The dangers 
of undue restraint, however, do not apply to animals 
subjected only to the conditions which partial soiling 
imposes. And with complete soiling, it is probable 
that they may, in a great measure, be avoided by 
giving due attention to the conditions which are 
necessary to the maintenance of improved vigor in 
domestic animals. 



CHAPTER 11. 

INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 

It would probably be correct to say that Indian 
corn (Zea Mays) furnishes more food for live stock 
than any other plant now grown in the United 
States, and that it will continue to do so through all 
the years that are yet to come. Taking everything 
into consideration it will probably produce more food 
per acre for domestic animals than any other plant, 
and there are but few foods which can be fed in a 
greater variety of ways. In furnishing soiling food 
on unirrigated land, it is in some respects without a 
rival on the American continent. So great is its 
value for this use that in the near future very few 
sections will be found in all the United States in 
which it will not be grown on a large majority of the 
farms by those who keep live stock. 

Green corn is pre-eminently a food for dairy 
cows when in milk, owing in part to the close relation 
between succulence in food and free milk production. 
But it may also be fed with much advantage to other 
classes of cattle when pastures are scant, and also to 
horses of all ages, although to horses at work it 
should not be given in large quantities, lest a too lax 
condition of the bowels be induced. It furnishes 
excellent green food for sheep, when of fine growth. 
It also furnishes food for swine that is much relished 
by them, especially when the corn is of the sweet 

19 





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INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 21 

varieties. They will virtually consume the entire 
product when it is fed to them prior to the maturing 
of the crop. 

Corn grown as soiling food will yield from 
ten to thirty tons per acre, according as the land is 
poor or rich and the season is dry or moist. A good 
average crop may be placed at fifteen to twenty tons 
per acre. 

Distribution. — Corn can be grown as soiling 
food in nearly all the tillable portions of the United 
States, since, with a mean temperature of about 60 
degrees, it will become sufficiently advanced for being 
cut as soiling food in from fifty to seventy days from 
the time of planting. But where it can be allowed 
to grow for a longer period, the crop is relatively 
more valuable. Nearly all the tillable portions of 
the United States have marked adaptation for grow- 
ing corn to be fed in the green form. The sections 
least well adapted to its growth are those probably 
which border on the Pacific ocean, between Alaska 
and California, because of the low mean tempera- 
tures that prevail there. In nearly all the tillable 
areas of Canada, also, corn can be grown in the 
finest form for summer feeding and in sections too 
far north to mature the grain. 

Soil. — Corn is specially adapted to warm, deep 
loam soils rich in humus, and that lie upon subsoils 
of what may be termed porous clay. It is a most 
voracious feeder on decaying organic matter, hence 
when it is to be grown, care should be taken to keep 
the soil well supplied wnth such food. But it may be 
grown with more or less success on almost any kind 
of land not too low in available plant food, not too 



22 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

strongly impregnated with alkali, and not overmoist 
or over dry. It may be made to flourish on the stiff est 
clays when they are sufficiently pulverized, and on 
the poorest sands when they have been sufficiently 
enriched. 

Place in the Rotation. — As a fodder or grain 
crop, that is, as a crop for being fed in the cured 
form, corn should be grown whenever practica1:)le 
as a cleaning crop. More commonly it should be 
planted after one or more grain crops have been 
taken from the land, and it should be followed by a 
grain crop in which grass seeds have been sown. 
Frequently it should be sown on an overturned grass 
or clover sod. But when sown to provide soiling 
food it can with much advantage be grown as a 
"catch" crop, that is to say, as a crop preceded or 
followed by another crop grown on the land the same 
season, and in some instances both preceded and 
followed by another crop. Where the seasons are 
sufficiently long it may thus be grown w4th peculiar 
fitness after a crop of winter rye is pastured, plowed 
under green, or reaped when mature ; after clover is 
pastured, buried or reaped ; after grain crops are pas- 
tured off", and in some instances after grain crops 
are harvested; after a crop of early sown rape is 
grazed down, and after certain other soiling crops 
have been removed from the land, as, for instance, 
peas and oats. 

It may also be grown after any kind of a fall 
or spring sown crop that has failed from any cause. 
But in areas in which the seasons are quite short, it 
may not be possible to grow another crop on the land 
the same season. The crops that may with much 



INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 2^ 

propriety be sown after soiling corn include winter 
wheat, winter rye, winter oats, the winter vetch, the 
sand vetch, rape and crimson clover. Corn may 
thus frequently be sown as soiling food without 
interfering with the growth of the crop that would 
ordinarily be taken from the land. 

Preparing the Soil. — When preparing the soil, 
the aim should be to secure a seed bed moist, clean 
and fine. When winter rye is plowed under, it 
should not be later than the earing stage, and in 
regions deficient in moisture earlier than that, lest 
through its bulkiness it should cause the land to lie 
too loosely upon itself and so lose too much of its 
moisture, or through its woodiness it should fail to 
decay soon enough to feed the corn crop. If the 
buried rye is rolled and harrowed soon after it has 
been buried, the moisture in the soil will be better 
conserved and the more quickly will the rye decay. 
These remarks' will apply equally to the burial of 
fresh farmyard manure with much litter in it. But 
in time of wet weather, it would not be necessary 
thus to roll and harrow the land so soon after it 
had been plowed. As the preparation of the soil for 
this crop cannot usually begin long before the plant- 
ing of the crop, special pains should be taken to 
pulverize the soil and to make it firm, that the germi- 
nation of the young plants may begin at once after 
planting, and that the subsequent growth may be 
rapid. 

It should always be the aim in growing a soiling 
crop of corn to produce a large quantity. It is usu- 
ally fed in the immature form, hence quality in the 
food cannot be so much influenced by close or wide 



24 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

planting as it is when the corn crop is allowed to 
mature. Land, therefore, not sufficiently fertile to 
produce a maximum crop should be fertilized accord- 
ing to its needs. Where it can be obtained, farm- 
yard manure is one of the cheapest and most effective 
of fertilizers. It may be applied most freely in 
climates not deficient, or not much deficient, in mois- 
ture. It feeds the corn crop better when it has been 
reduced, or fermented, more or less, before it is 
applied. On lands lacking in moisture the applica- 
tion of large quantities of farmyard manure in the 
unreduced form should be avoided, unless it can be 
applied some considerable time before the planting 
of the corn, otherwise its bulkiness and slowness of 
decay may harm the crop more than it will help it. 

Commercial fertilizers may also be applied in 
addition to farmyard manure where the supply of 
the latter is limited, or alone in its absence. The 
composition of these fertilizers and the quantity to 
apply will depend upon the needs of the land. But 
more commonly complete fertilizers will be prefer- 
able, that is to say, fertilizers which contain a certain 
per cent, of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. 

Sowing. — Corn for soiling uses may be sown 
broadcast by hand and covered with the harrow; 
with the grain drill, all the tubes or with only part 
of them in use ; or it may be strewn by hand in shal- 
low furrows made by the plow. Which of these 
methods ought to be adopted will depend chiefly 
upon such conditions as the conveniences at hand 
for planting the crop and upon the area to be grown. 

Much has been written against the plan of sow- 
ing the corn broadcast by hand, also against the plan 



INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 2$ 

of sowing it with the grain drill when all the tubes 
are in use. Yet it may be true that a large majority 
of the farmers who grow corn for soiling persist in 
growing it thus. And there is probably some reason 
for such persistence. It is very convenient to sow 
corn in this way. The stalks, because of their fineness, 
are more palatable than when of stronger growth, 
and on good soil much bulk of food is obtained. The 
objections to this method of planting the crop are : 
The lack of growth in the corn in severely dry 
weather, the encouragement given to the growth of 
weeds, the larger amount of seed required for plant- 
ing, and the less nutritious character of the food. 
There is some force in all these objections. Notwith- 
standing, in the judgment of the author they do not 
prove conclusively that on well prepared soils corn 
for soiling should not sometimes be grown thus. 
But it should not be so grown on land that is 
frequently lacking in moisture, on land that is low in 
fertility or on land on which weed seeds lying on or 
near the surface have not been well sprouted and 
destroyed before the planting of the corn. 

When corn for soiling is planted with the grain 
drill, some of the tubes only being in use, there is 
much latitude in the precise methods practiced 
Sometimes every second tube is used. When planted 
thus, the crop will make more growth on soils only 
moderately supplied with plant food, and it will also 
make a better growth in dry weather. When thus 
planted, of course, the rows are too near to admit of 
horse cultivation. Such cultivation may be given 
with the rows even nearer to each other than thirty 
inches, but when less distant than thirty inches it 



26 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

cannot be done with so much freedom or ease. The 
larger the variety of the corn, the more distant 
should be the rows, to avoid too much shading from 
the sunlight ; hence there may be instances when corn 
grown for soiling should be planted more than thirty 
inches distant. 

Sometimes such corn is planted with the drill 
in what may be termed double rows, that is to say, 
in rows not more than from six to nine inches apart. 
But the distance between the pairs of double rows 
should be at least thirty inches. In planting corn 
thus, with some grain drills at least, it may be neces- 
sary to duplicate the amount of driving that would 
be sufficient to plant the corn in single rows. Other 
drills, however, may be made to plant at least two 
double rows at one and the same time. This is done 
by leaving open the avenues that lead to the tubei 
which do the planting and closmg all the others. 
Corn planted thus will produce a greater bulk than 
if planted in single row^s, yet this method of planting 
admits practicall}^ the same kind of cultivation that 
would be suitable for corn grown in single rows. 

When the corn is sown by hand, shallow fur- 
rows are made with the plow, the seed is strewn 
thickly in these, according to the desires of the 
grower, and it may be covered by hand or by draw- 
ing a heavy harrow crosswise over the ground. The 
object sought in planting the corn thus is to secure a 
thick stand of plants that may, also, be cultivated, 
when a drill with which to sow the plants is not 
obtainable. But this method of planting corn for 
soiling should not be attempted when a large area 
is to be planted. 




(27) 



Fig. 3. Giant Fodder Corn for Soiling 

Minnesota University Experiment Farm. 



28 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

The variety, or varieties, of corn to sow or plant 
will depend on conditions such as relate to climate 
and soil. In northerly latitudes it may be wise to 
plant only the quick growing flint varieties. In 
more southerly latitudes, it may be necessary to grow 
only the slow growing dent varieties. When the 
corn is to be allowed to pass the earing stage, before 
being fed, it may be proper to choose some of the 
varieties of sweet corn for planting. But since soil- 
ing corn is usually fed before the corn on the ear is 
of any considerable food value, it is well to select 
varieties with a leafy tendency of grow^th, since these 
varieties will be more relished by the animals to 
w^hich the crop is fed. 

The quantity of seed required will vary with 
the size of the seed kernels, or, in other words, with 
the variety of the corn, and with the method adopted 
in sowing the seed. Probably no method of sowing 
calls for the use of more than three bushels of seed 
per acre, or less than one bushel per acre. There 
would seem to be no advantage derived from grow- 
ing corn for soiling purposes w^itli the plants less dis- 
tant than from three to four inches in the line of the 
row, whatsoever the kind of cultivation adopted, and 
there may often be good reasons for growing the 
plants much further apart. 

The time for planting corn for soiling will 
largely depend upon such conditions as climate, soil, 
and the prospective needs of the animals to which 
the crop is to be fed. Although in southern lati- 
tudes, this crop may be sown for soiling uses far on 
into midsummer, it should never be planted in the 
spring before the soil has become sufficiently warmed 



INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 29 

to germinate the seed quickly. Slowness of germi- 
nation is more or less injurious to the crop, and 
prolonged slowness of germination may be even 
fatal to it. It is probably safe to conclude that the 
season is sufficiently advanced for corn planting 
to begin when apple blossoms are unfolding 
their beautiful tints. It may be desirable to 
have the season for feeding green corn as long as 
possible. This may be brought about in one of two 
ways : First, several varieties, which call for varying 
periods in which to grow, may be planted at the same 
time ; second, but one variety may be sown at inter- 
vals not closer to each other than two or three weeks. 
The second of these methods is preferable, since the 
one variety selected may be the most suitable to grow 
in that particular locality. When corn is grown as 
soiling food for pigs, the aim should be to secure 
m_uch grain rather than abundant growth of stem 
and leaves. It should therefore be planted in hills 
or rows, as corn is usually grown, to provide ears. 
From eight to twelve quarts of seed will suffice to 
plant an acre, and, as previously intimated, the sweet 
varieties are to be given the preference. 

Cultivation. — The harrow and the cultivator 
are the instruments chiefly used in cultivating corn 
for soiling. Owing to the short period required by 
corn to grow, it is seldom necessary to use the hand 
hoe, when a sufficient use has been made of the har- 
row. The corn ground should be harrowed a few 
days subsequently to the planting of the seed. It may 
be necessary to harrow twice before the plants appear 
when the germination is tardy, but once is usually 
sufficient. The crop should be harrowed at intervals 



30 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

of only a few days, especiall}^ when the weather 
is dry, even though the land is not foul with weed? 
that it may the more perfectly retain its moisture. 
The harrowing should cease when the plants are sev- 
eral inches high. For reasons that will be manifest, 
the harrow should be light, should have a broad 
sweep, and when in use the teeth should usually be 
set to slant backward. It should also be driven 
across rather than along the drills, that fewer plants 
may be covered by the harrow. When the crop must 
be planted on foul land, more seed should be used 
than w\^uld otherwise be necessary, to allow for the 
freer use of the harrow, and consequently for the 
loss of a larger percentage of the plants. 

When the cultivator can be used, its use ought 
to begin soon after the harrowing has ceased, and it 
should continue at intervals until the feeding of the 
crop has virtually begun. These intervals should 
usually be not more distant than, say, seven to ten 
days. The cultivation should be shallow, that the 
corn roots may not be broken, and that the moisture 
may be better conserved than it would be by deep 
cultivation. It should come close up to the line of 
the rows, that weed growth may be checked to the 
greatest possible extent. 

Feeding. — The feeding of the corn may begin 
as soon as it is fully in tassel, or even sooner but for 
the loss in maximum development that would ensue, 
and this feeding may be continued until the crop is 
matured. But when fed to swine it may be well to 
defer the feeding until the corn in the ear is nearly 
ready for table use. The residue of the green 
corn, if the crop is not all consumed, may be cut at 



INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 3I 

the stage of early maturity, cured in the shock and 
fed with much advantage to hve stock subsequently 
through the entire fall and winter. The farmer who 
has a sufficient area of corn grown and properly har- 
vested on the plan above outlined may sustain his 
horses, cattle and sheep in excellent form, howsoever 
dry the autumn may be, or howsoever scarce the 
pasture. But it is very important that the crop shall 
be harvested at the stage of early maturity, that is 
to say, when a little under-ripe, and that it be nicely 
cured. Vastly increased attention is likely to be 
given to this feature of corn production in the near 
future, more particularly in the northwestern states, 
so much characterized by bright autumn sunshine. 

When only a small quantity of soiling food is 
to be fed daily, it may be cut with a scythe and carted 
to the animals, or thrown to them over the fence 
Avhich may separate the corn crop from an adjoining 
pasture. It may be well in some instances to so plan 
for feeding the corn when choosing the land on 
which it is to be grown, that is to say, it may be well 
to sow a strip of corn not too wide beside the pasture 
and along its entire length. The saving in horse 
labor that would thus be effected when feeding the 
crop would be material, but to the plan there is the 
objection that corn or other green crop fed thus 
leads to the dropping of an undue proportion of the 
manure in that part of the pasture on which the 
green food has been fed. When green corn is cut 
for pigs, the corn hook will probably be the best 
implement to use. 

When fed on a large scale, the crop must needs 
be cut with the mower, according to the needs of the 



32 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

live stock. Or, as much may be cut at one time as 
will suffice for two or three days' feeding, especially 
when the crop is well advanced in growth, as then it 
does not quickly wait overmuch, as it would at an 
earlier period. A moderate amount of wilting 
rather adds to the relish of the food, and it also les- 
sens the danger from abundant feeding when the 
green corn is first given to the animals. 

The portion fed once or twice a day, as the case 
may be, will have to be drawn as frequently by horse 
labor, except when it is fed in racks in a yard, or in 
the stable mangers. In such instances enough may 
be drawn at one time to suffice for two or even for 
three days. But too much wilting must be guarded 
against, else it will lessen the palatability of the corn. 
Some form of truck with a platform not far from 
the ground should be used in carting all kinds of 
green food, in order to lessen muscular expenditure 
in handling food with so much water in it. 

Where the facilities are suitable, there is no way 
by which corn thus carted can be fed to live stock 
with a less expenditure of labor than by feeding it 
in a pasture. It is then thrown from the dray or 
wagon and is consumed without any further labor 
in handling the residue, or in carting the drop- 
pings. But of course there is oftentimes con- 
siderable loss in the manure. When corn or other 
green food is thus fed, it should be dumped off in 
small bunches not too near one another, so the 
animals may consume it without being molested by 
one another ; and it should be strewn on a different 
portion of the pasture every time it is fed, to insure 
greater cleanliness in the feeding, also to secure a 



INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 33 

more even distribution of the droppings. The whole 
pasture may be gone over in this way. The plan 
of manuring a field thus is certainly very cheap and 
efficacious. The loss in fertility is not great if the 
pasture is to be plowed the same autumn. If it can 
be arranged to have the food thus spread on the 
ground in the absence of the live stock, they will not 
tread on it so much when turned in to feed upon it. 
The ideal plan, when it can be carried out, is to have 
two pastures and to spread the food in each alter- 
nately when the live stock are in the other pasture. 

When the green corn is fed to horses or cattle 
in manger or racks, for manifest reasons, it is well 
to have it placed in these when the animals are 
absent, unless when they are tied in stalls. It may 
be most conveniently fed to sheep or swine in the 
pastures, but there may be occasions when it will be 
found advantageous to feed it in paddocks, feed lots 
or sheds. The feeding of sweet corn to swine may 
be continued after the crop has matured, but there 
Avill be loss in feeding the stalks unless the ears only 
are fed to the swine. The stalks may of course De 
cured and fed to horses or cattle. 



CHAPTER III. 



SORGHUM. 



Sorghum (Sorghum vulgare var. saccharatum) 
has not been very extensively grown as a food for 
live stock on any part of the continent, but for sev- 
eral years past its great value for such a use has been 
known to a limited number of farmers in various 
centers, and in many instances it has been fed by 
those farmers with very satisfactory results. It is 
probably true that in Kansas more sorghum has been 
grow^n to provide food for live stock than in any 
other state in the Union, but in some of the states 
which border upon Kansas, and in others farther 
south, more or less sorghum has been grown for 
stock within the past few years. The idea has gone 
abroad, and rightly, too, that sorghum is more deli- 
cate and slower in growth than corn. But the gen- 
erally accepted view based on this idea, viz., that to 
grow sorghum and to keep it clean involves great 
labor is only partially correct. When sown on 
ground well prepared and clean on and near the 
surface, it requires no more labor subsequent to the 
sowing of the seed to grow sorghum than to grow 
corn. But it is frequently necessary to expend more 
labor in cleaning and mellowing the seed bed for this 
crop than in preparing the same for corn. If sown 
on land foul with weed seeds within the surface 
strata of the soil, the weeds will start in advance 

34 




(35) 



Fig. 4. Early Amber 5orghum 

Minnesota University Experiment Farm. 



36 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

of the sorghum and will greatly hinder its growth 
unless much labor is expended in fighting them. 

Sorghum stools much when it is growing, 
hence the growth is finer in character than the 
growth of corn. This of course adds to its palata- 
bility as a food for stock. But its greatest value 
as a soiling food lies, first, in its power to pro- 
duce more than one cutting per year when 
grown under favorable conditions of soil and 
climate; second, in its ability to grow in climates 
with a limited rainfall. The plants grow slowly 
for a time, and the development of root growth is 
limited ; later they take a firm, hold upon the soil, and 
if the weather is warm they rush forward with much 
quickness and vigor. 

Sorghum furnishes excellent soiling food for 
horses, cattle, sheep and swine. Like nearly all 
green foods it must be fed with some caution to 
horses when working. It is becoming more com- 
mon to pasture sheep and swine upon sorghum than 
to feed it to them as a soiling food, owing to the 
marked adaptability of this plant in providing pas- 
ture for these animals. But when fed as soiling 
food to sheep and swine it is much relished, more 
especially when of tender and succulent growth. 
Its highest use as a soiling food, however, is in pro- 
viding supplies for milch cows. They are fond of 
sorghum and it is good for milk production, and a 
given area furnishes relatively a large quantity of 
food. 

This plant has been known to produce thirty 
tons of green food per acre, but the average is under 
rather than over fifteen tons. In many instances the 



SORGHUM. 37 

yield v/oiild be even under ten tons per acre. Whether 
the largest yield will be obtained from one or two 
cuttings per acre will be largely dependent on the 
character of the season, but with sufficient rainfall 
larger yields will be obtained from two cuttings, and 
the sorghum from the second cutting is of increased 
fineness because of the more abundant stooling of 
the plants caused by the first cutting. 

Distribution. — Sorghum can be grown for soil- 
ing food in all the tillable portions of the United 
States that will produce Indian corn. This means 
that it can be grown successfully in every state in the 
Union. It can also be grown in Canada over simi- 
lar areas, but in those sections of Canada that mark 
the northerly limit of corn production, it cannot be 
grown as successfully as corn, because of insuffi- 
ciently high temperatures in the growing season. 

As this plant is possessed of greater power to 
withstand drouth than corn, it has a higher adapta- 
tion for much of the area lying west of the tier of 
states which border on the Mississippi river and east 
of the Rocky Mountains. The extent to which sor- 
ghum will yet be grown for 'pasture, soiling food 
and fodder within the area named, can only be sur- 
mised. The conditions for its abundant growth in 
much of the said area are not at all unfavorable. 
The tillable areas on the continent which are least 
adapted to the growth of sorghum are those which 
border on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and north 
from Portland in Maine on the one hand and from 
San Francisco on the other. 

Soil. — The soils that possess highest adaptation 
for com also possess highest adaptation for sorghum. 



38 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

The latter will grow best, therefore, on loam 
soils which are well supplied with humus, and which 
rest on a subsoil of readily permeable clay. All, or 
nearly all, prairie soils are well suited to the growth 
of sorghum. But the most suitable soils for this 
plant have more of the sand element in them than 
those which possess highest adaptation for growing 
corn. Sorghum may also be grown with success in 
sandy soils underlaid with sand or gravel and so 
lacking in moisture that corn could not be success- 
fully grown upon them. On the other hand, in the 
dry belt there are vast stretches of just such land 
which are so lacking in moisture that sorghum even 
cannot be grown on them in the absence of irrigation. 
On certain other soils, as, for instance, clays of more 
or less fineness of texture, corn may be grown to bet- 
ter advantage than sorghum. The former will suc- 
ceed measurably well on clays so stiff as to be quite 
unsuited to the growth of sorghum. 

Place in the Rotation. — When sorghum for 
soiling is the only crop grown on the land during 
the season of growth, it may be placed anywhere in 
the rotation, but preferably between two grain crops, 
as then it can be grown as a cleaning crop. Its effi- 
cacy for such a use will depend much upon whether 
it is or is not cultivated while growing. In either 
case, when the land is properly handled weed growth 
will be diminished. Sorghum may also be grown 
as a catch crop, but not to the same extent as corn, 
since some varieties of corn may be grown in a 
shorter period than any of the varieties of sorghum. 
When thus grown, however, it may frequently be 
made to follow such crops as winter rye, whether 



SORGHUM. 39 

pastured, used for green food, plowed under, or har- 
vested. Sometimes it comes after clover is plowed 
under or made into hay ; or early sown rape that has 
been eaten down. It may also be made to follow 
certain early garden crops, and crops intended for 
producing hay or grain, but which, through lack of 
promise, have been pastured off. The chief objec- 
tion to growing sorghum as a catch crop arises from 
the want of sufficient time, between the plowing of 
the land and the sowing of the seed, to give ample 
opportunity for sprouting the weed seeds that lie on 
or near the surface of the soil. Since corn may be 
harrowed to a much greater extent than sorghum 
without injury to the plants, it has higher adaptation 
than sorghum for being grown as a catch crop; on 
the other hand, sorghum will grow under conditions 
so dry as to bring distress upon the corn crop. 

Preparing the Soil. — Land in the best condition 
for being planted with sorghum is clean on and near 
the surface, is possessed of a fine tilth and is firm and 
moist. When sorghum is the only crop that is to 
be grown on the land for the season, it is usually 
not difficult to so cultivate the soil that it will be in 
the condition above described when the crop is to be 
sown. Usually it is preferable to plow the land in 
the autumn. There will then be time to sprout the 
weed seeds on and near the surface, and in turn to 
destroy them before the seed is planted. This can 
be accomplished by the occasional use of the harrow, 
and in some instances it may be necessary also to 
use some form of cultivation. The precise nature 
of the implement to be used will be measurably 
dependent upon the character of the soil. While the 



40 SOILING CROPS AND TPIE SILO. 

surface soil is thus being stirred, its power to hold 
moisture is also being increased. And even though 
it be necessary to defer sowing the seed for a time, 
in order to secure the requisites necessary to insure 
a good seed bed, it is better to adopt such a course 
than to sow the seed on ill-prepared land. 

As previously intimated, there is usually not 
time to prepare the land thus, when sorghum is 
grown as a catch crop, but some things can be done 
that will tend to enhance the growth of the crop 
when it is planted. As soon as the land is plowed 
it should be rolled and harrowed to prevent the 
escape of moisture. But if there is already sufficient 
moisture in the land, it is not necessary to use the 
roller; and if the sowing of the seed can be deferred 
for a time, without too much hazard, something can 
be accomplished by way of cleaning the land on or 
near the surface. But more commonly it is necessary 
to sow the seed as soon as the ground can be made 
ready for it. 

While sorghum grows fairly well on land of 
but medium fertility, since the roots gather much 
food in the subsoil, the yields are usually propor- 
tionate to the fertility in the land. Farmyard 
manure, when it can be obtained, is one of the best 
and cheapest fertilizers for sorghum. Commonly it 
would be applied before the land is plowed, whether 
used in the fresh or in the reduced form. In the 
fresh form it may, with much propriety, be buried in 
the autumn, thus giving it ample time to measurably 
decay before the crop begins to feed upon it. But 
on leachy soils and in climates with much rainfall, 
the aim should be to apply the manure only a short 



SORGHUM. 41 

time before the crop is to be planted, lest its more 
valuable ingredients should filter into the drainage 
water and pass away before they can be appropriated 
by the plants of the crop which is to follow. It is 
not a good plan to top-dress the seed bed which is 
to receive sorghum seed with any kind of farmyard 
manure, because of the prevalence of weed seeds in 
the same. But it may in some instances serve an 
excellent purpose, to top-dress sandy soils with 
farmyard manure in the autumn, and then to bury 
the manure that has been so applied in the early 
spring. The surface soil will thus be so far enriched 
as to promote a rapid growth. 

Commercial fertilizers may be applied alone, or 
in conjunction with farmyard manure. Complete 
fertilizers are more commonly used, but the exact 
nature of the product to be applied will depend upon 
the extent to which the soil is wanting in the various 
leading elements of fertility. The aim should be to 
apply these fertilizers so that they will stimulate vig- 
orous growth in the plants when they are young. 
since, if they have thus been made strong while yet 
young, their power to extract plant food from the 
soil at a later period of development will be greatly 
enhanced. The fertilizer should therefore be sowri 
when practicable at the same time the seed is sown, 
and in near proximity to the same, but not too close 
to it when the fertilizer is possessed of any ingre- 
dients of a caustic nature. 

For several years the question of fertilizers for 
sorghum is not likely to give much concern to the 
growers of the same in the upper basin of the Mis- 
sissippi river. It is very different, however, with the 



42 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

farmers living on the more hungry soils of the lower 
Atlantic and Gulf states. 

Sozving. — One of the following methods of 
sowing sorghum is usually adopted : First, it is sown 
broadcast by hand and covered with the harrow; 
second, by the grain drill, all the tubes or only every 
alternate tube being used ; third, by hand in shallow 
furrows marked out by the plow ; or, fourth, by the 
grain drill in single or double rows with a space oi 
thirty to forty-two inches between them. The first 
m.ethod is usually practiced by those who have no 
grain drill, since it is convenient to sow the seed thus. 
The chief objections to sowing sorghum by this plan 
are, first, the seed is imperfectly covered and at vary- 
ing depths, hence it grows up more or less unevenly ; 
second, some of the seed in dry weather fails to 
germinate ; third, when sown thus it cannot be culti- 
vated, which, under very dry conditions, may lead 
to failure in the crop. The second method buries 
the seed at a uniform depth, hence the germination 
of the seed may be expected to be more uniform, but 
the objections from smothering through the presence 
of weeds and through injury from dry weather are 
much the same as when the seed is sown by hand, 
though less in degree. 

The use of only every other drill tube when sow- 
ing the seed insures a more bulky growth of the crop, 
but at the expense of the fine character of the growth. 
The third method is only resorted to when a small 
quantity is to be sown in the absence of a grain drill, 
and when at the same time it is desirable to cultivate 
the young crop. The fourth method is followed 
when a large area is to be grown, and when it is 




bo 



o 
be !" 



44 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

desirable to cultivate the crop. In sowing the seed 
almost any make of drill may be used. In sowing 
double ro^\s two adjoining tubes are active, while 
the tubes that occupy the space between the double 
rows are inactive, that is to say, not in use. The 
space between the rows that form the double row is 
thus from six to eight or nine inches wide, according 
to the make or pattern of the drill, and the distance 
between the double row^s wall be determined by the 
nature of the soil, the variety of the sorghum to be 
grown and the character of growth expected from 
it. The richer the soil, the more distant the rows 
from one another ; the larger the variety of the sor- 
ghum the coarser will be the character of the growth 
produced. The chief objects sought in planting the 
double in preference to the single row are : To secure 
an increased yield in weight of fodder, and to secure 
a crop fine in character. One objection to the sys- 
tem is found in the shelter that is thus provided for 
weeds between the tw^o lines of the double row. 

Prominent among the varieties of sorghum that 
are more commonly grown are the Early Amber, 
sometimes called the Minnesota Amber, the Early 
Orange, Folger's Early and Link's Hybrid. The 
first nam.ed has marked adaptation for northern lati- 
tudes. The second and third are much grown in 
the states of the middle west, and the fourth is one 
among several varieties grown in the south. 

The quantity of seed to be sown will depend 
upon climatic conditions and upon the mode of plant- 
ing. It is manifest the system of sowing broadcast 
will call for much more seed than the system of 
planting sorghum in single or double rows. When 



SORGHUM. 45 

the seed is broadcasted by hand or when it is sown 
with the grain drill, — all the tubes in use, — one 
bushel of seed per acre will usually be sufficient, 
although some growers advocate sowing as much as 
two bushels per acre. Where the moisture is likely 
to prove inadequate to the needs of the growing 
crop, results more satisfactory will be obtained by 
reducing the quantity of the seed to be sown. When 
grown in single rows with a wide space between 
them, a few quarts of seed will suffice per acre, but 
in growing this crop for soiling uses it will, usually, 
be found advantageous to sow not less than a peck 
of seed per acre, whatsoever the method of growing 
the crop that may be adopted. 

The time for sowing the seed will, of course, 
vary with such conditions as relate to climate and 
rotation. It is a mistake to plant before warm and 
settled weather has set in. When sown too early 
the germination of the seed will be imperfect, the 
early growth will be sickly in character, and the 
weeds will push on ahead of the sorghum, so when 
the crop starts to grow no conditions, howsoever 
favorable, can make it a success. A crop grown 
under similar conditions, except that it is not sown 
until the weather is sufficiently warm, will prove 
much more satisfactory than the former. The best 
rule to follow, perhaps, is that which defers sowing 
the sorghum seed until the corn crop has been 
planted. 

Of course sorghum may be sown for soiling at 
any subsequent time, so long as there is time enough 
to secure sufficient growth to pay for the young crop. 
It must, of course, be harvested before the autumn 



46 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

frosts arrive. While green and succulent it is easily 
injured by frost. 

Cultivation. — Harrowing sorghum is the only 
mode of cultivation that may be resorted to when 
it is sown on the broadcast plan, either by hand or 
with the grain drill. It cannot be harrowed nearly 
so much as corn, owing to the much greater delicacy 
of the young plants, and when planted with the 
grain drill the harrow ma}^ be more effectively used 
than when the seed has been broadcasted, for then 
the plants do not uproot so easily. Sorghum sown 
with the grain drill may, usually, be harrowed with 
benefit to the crop just when the first blades are 
pushing through the soil. The harrow used should 
be light, of a broad sweep and the teeth of the same 
should be slanted backward to the greatest possible 
extent when the work is being done. No little dif- 
ference of opinion prevails as to the degree of the 
benefit arising from harrowing the crop after it has 
got well through the soil. It is at least question- 
able if sorghum should be harrowed after the plants 
appear until they get up several inches above the 
surface. Before that period of advancement they 
are easily uprooted and also easily buried in the 
process of harrowing. The quick growth of sor- 
ghum will certainly be promoted by harrowing, but 
the crop should not be harrowed to the extent of 
making the plants too few to produce a maximum 
of forage. Where it is intended to use the harrow 
freely on the young plants, enough additional seed 
should be sown to allow for the expected loss. 

In sections deficient in moisture, it is more nec- 
essary to use the harrow freely than in those opposite 



SORGHUM. 47 

in character. When the crop is threatened with 
serious injury from the presence of young weeds, it 
ought to be harrowed. More sorghum will be 
secured, and that of a superior quality, from a piece 
of land in which the plants have been thinned over- 
much by harrowing than from a similar piece of 
equal area in which the weeds have obtained the 
ascendency over the sorghum. 

When practicable, the cultivation of sorghum 
sown in rows sufficiently distant should be early 
l)egun, it should be frequent, and may be continued 
almost up to the time of the last cutting of the crop 
for the season, and it ought to be shallow rather than 
deep. After the first cutting of the crop, tlie benefit 
from prompt subsequent cultivation will be 
abundantly apparant. Some hand hoeing may be 
given betimes with profit in the line of the row, but 
when the land has been well prepared such work is 
seldom necessary. 

Feeding. — There is no cast-iron rule as to when 
the cutting of the crop should begin. It should not 
be delayed, however, until the seed heads are formed 
when a second cutting is intended. If the sorghum 
is cut after that period the yield from the second 
growth will be much reduced. When cut too early 
the yield from the first cutting is unduly small. 
Usually the cutting of the first growth does 
not begin until the crop is from two to three 
feet high, but it may begin earlier if necessary, and 
the cutting of the second growth may begin as soon 
as the seed heads appear, or even earlier. Since, 
under normal conditions, the crop is cut and fed 
from day to day according to the needs of the live 



48 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

stock, the second growth will frequently be ready to 
cut by the time the first growth is all consumed, 
providing the consumption of the first growth has 
covered a period sufficiently long. This period w ill 
vary, but it should not be less than three to four 
weeks. Sorghum, therefore, from a single sowing, 
may be made to provide soiling food in the green 
form for live stock from six to eight weeks. But 
during periods of severe drouth, the second cutting- 
may not materialize, or it may, at least, be disap- 
pointing in its growth. When but one cutting is 
made the harvesting may begin as soon as the seed 
heads are fully formed, and may be continued until 
the crop is fully matured. But when the sorghum 
is to be fed to sheep or swine in the green form, they 
will consume it with greater relish when cut at an 
early stage of growth. The food is then fine in 
character, juicy, tender and contains but little fiber. 
When thus fed one or two more cuttings can be 
obtained in one season because of the earlier stage 
of development at which the sorghum is cut. But it 
is more common to pasture sheep and swine on 
young sorghum than to feed it to them as soil- 
ing food. 

When but a small quantity is wanted per day, 
the scythe is commonly used in cutting the sorghum. 
When grown along and beside a pasture fence, 
of necessity the scythe must be used in cutting 
the food for convenience in feeding the same. 
When a large amount is required the mower must 
be used. As the plants do not shrivel readily, 
enough may be mown at one time to last for two or 
three days, more especially when the green food is 



SORGHUM. 49 

to be fed to the cattle and horses. As in feeding 
corn, it may be fed within a pasture, in racks, feed 
lots, or mangers in the stables. 

Some care is necessary, especially when the 
feeding begins to limit the amount fed, or to feed it 
in a somewhat wilted condition, lest it should cause 
hoven or bloat. Inattention at this point may lead 
to serious loss, but green sorghum is less liable to 
produce hoven than clover or alfalfa. The amount 
that may be given daily need not be limited except 
by the needs of the live stock, unless for a few days 
at the first. However, more satisfactory results will 
follow when some other food less succulent is given. 
Sorghum may also be fed to live stock with great 
advantage in the matured form, on what may be 
termed the soiling plan of feeding. When thus fed 
it is common to cut the crop with the binder or 
mower, but more commonly with the latter. The 
sorghum is then allowed to lie on the ground for sev- 
eral days before being gathered together, especially 
when it is not well matured, or when the weather is 
damp. It does not take injury from rain as corn 
would when thus exposed. The outside of the stem 
is hard, hence the rain does not penetrate it. But 
some injury is done through the soil that adheres to 
it. It is true, nevertheless, that sorghum exposed 
thus and lying on the ground for a period of two or 
three weeks in rainy weather has been eaten subse- 
quently and with a relish by live stock. It is drawn 
into windrows, by using a strong rake, and is then 
put into large "cocks" or heaps by hand. 

When the c'rop is very heavy, it may be bunched 
v/ithout first having been raked. In such cocks 

4 



50 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

sorghum will not ferment or mold as corn does, 
hence as much as 500 pounds, or more than that, 
may be put in one heap without any danger of loss 
from heating. From these the sorghum may be 
drawn and fed to live stock in the pastures, in the 
sheds or stables, as desired. This food is greatly 
relished by the animals at that season of the year, 
and since it is fed with but little handling it is con- 
sidered an economical food. Feeding from such a 
source may be continued until the closing in of the 
winter. When sorghum is to be fed thus, it is com- 
monly grown like grain, that it may be fine enough 
to be handled with the fork without difficulty. No 
other kind of food that can be grown comes in more 
opportunely for feeding at that season than sorghum. 
In the states of the middle west and in those of the 
south, where winter delays its coming, this method 
of feeding sorghum is peculiarly advantageous. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS. 

The chief of the non-saccharine sorghums are 
Kaffir corn, Milo maize, dhourra and Jerusalem 
corn. Teosinte, properly speaking, is not a sorghum, 
but it will be included in the discussion of the non- 
saccharine sorghums because of the similarity in the 
methods of cultivation and in the uses for which it 
is grown. Of these plants, Kaffir corn is the best 
known and the most extensively cultivated, but it 
would be premature to reach the conclusion that 
because of this it is the most valuable. It has been 
cultivated apparently in the United States for a 
longer period than the other non-saccharine sor- 
ghums. Milo maize in some of its varieties is likely 
to make a strong competitor to Kaffir corn. 

These plants are all of comparatively recent 
introduction into the United States. At least no 
one of them has been extensively grown in the same 
until within a comparatively recent period. They 
are but little known, therefore, to any considerable 
number of the agriculturists of the country. It will 
be in order, therefore, to give a short description of 
each and also to make some reference to the distinc- 
tive peculiarities of growth. 

Kaffir corn (Sorghum vulgare) is a sturdy 
growing plant. The stem is thick at the base, taper- 
ing toward the top and usually grows to the hight of 

51 



52 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

about five to six feet. Since it does not grow so 
tall as many of the varieties of corn, nor so tall as 
sorghum, or Milo maize, it is more easily handled 
than these in the sheaf when fully grown. The 
leaves are long and large and fairly numerous, but 
not markedly abundant. It throws up a single spike 
which bears a head in which the seeds are closely 
packed. The head is fully six inches long and three 
inches broad and stands erect, or nearly so. Large 
yields of seed are obtained, and when ground its 
feeding value for the various classes of farm stock 
is nearly equal to that of corn. The plants are but 
little liable to break down with the wind. They 
have extraordinary power to grow under dry condi- 
tions and to retain succulence in the leaves and stems 
even after the seed has matured. The leading 
varieties of Kaffir corn are the red and the white. 
The red matures earlier than the white, but the latter 
would seem to produce more seed. The red variety 
is better adapted than the white to states north from 
w^here the mast suitable conditions exist for growing 
Kaffir corn. 

Milo maize (Sorghum viilgare or Andropogon 
sorghum, var. ) is a vigorous growing plant. In the 
tests made at the Minnesota university experiment 
station in 1897-98, the plants attained an average 
hight of about eight feet. The leaves are large, and 
from the center of the stalk upward they are quite 
numerous. Each stalk when matured is surmounted 
by a large head which bears seed profusely. This 
head has an average length of about six inches and 
an average diameter of about four inches. When 
the head first appears it is erect, but when matured 



54 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

it hangs downward. It is somewhat more open 
than the seed head which is produced in Kaffir corn. 

There are two leading varieties of Milo maize, 
named respectively the yellow and the white. The 
former is the earlier of the two. In 1897 some of 
the seed of the yellow variety matured at the Minne- 
sota university experiment station, but not all of it. 
In 1898, one plat of the same variety was pastured 
with sheep. About the same results were obtained 
as from pasturing early amber sorghum. Another 
plat was grown in rows three feet distant from one 
another and harvested like corn. It was found that 
the numerous leaves around the top of the plants 
added to the difficulty in shocking and in preserving 
the fodder from injury by rain. When fed to cattle 
and sheep they ate it with more relish than they mani- 
fested for an}^ of the other non-saccharine sorghums. 

Dhourra (Andropogon sorghum^ Brot. ) is of at 
least four varieties, the brown, the black, the red and 
the white. Of these, the brown is more commonly 
grown. It is so named, doubtless, from the color 
of the seeds when ripe. It grows less rapidly than 
Milo maize. At the Minnesota university experi- 
ment station in 1897, the plants grew from six to 
eight feet in hight. The large and long leaves are 
not numerous. The seed heads are thick and heavy 
and oval shaped. They hang on a stem, which, 
though erect at first, assumes a shape resembling the 
neck of a goose as the maturing process goes on. It 
is a rather slow grower and matures seed about the 
same time as Kaffir corn. 

Jerusalem corn (Andropogon sorghum, Brot.) 
bears some resemblance to dhourra in appearance 




(SS) 



Pig. 7. Yellow Jlilo Haize 

Minnesota University Experiment Farm. 



56 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

and also in its habits of growth. It is even 
Stronger in the stem than dhourra and has still less 
of forage. The seed heads are large, and like those 
of dhourra, hang on hook-shaped stems. At the 
Minnesota university experiment station in 1897 
the plants grev/ to the hight of about five feet. Like 
those of dhourra they grew more slowly than Milo 
maize or Early Amber sorghum. Jerusalem corn 
should be grown rather for the seed than for the 
fodder. It is not probable that either dhourra or 
Jerusalem corn will be extensively grown for soiling 
food where Milo maize and sorghum can be grown. 
Teosinte (Reana hixurians) is distinguished 
from the non-saccharine sorghums in the less erect 
character of the growth, in the extent to which the 
plants sucker, in the greater fineness and abundance 
of the long and slender leaves, and in the manner 
in which the seed is produced. The seed grows on 
small ears and the ears grow numerously around 
every top joint of the seed stem. They are enclosed 
in a husk. There is probably no fodder plant that 
tillers so much as teosinte. As many as sixty 
suckers have been produced by a single plant. In 
the experiments conducted at the Minnesota univer- 
sity experiment station in 1898, it was found that 
when planted in rows three feet apart and thinned 
to fifteen inches in the row, each plant produced from 
five to twenty-five stalks. Those thinned to from 
two to three inches in the row produced from two to 
twelve stalks. The latter were also much more 
upright in their ^sffowth. Seed heads were not even 
formed on any of the plants. Teosinte would make 
an excellent pasture and soiling plant for the south 






M 


1 


■'J 


■• 


•^ 


^1 


fi 


1' 


^i 


^" 


■J 



(57) 



Fig. 8. Brown Dhourra 

Minnesota University Experiment Farm. 



58 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

but for the low palatability which it possesses. It 
is thought a greater weight of food can be obtained 
from this plant than from any of the sorghums or 
millets that have been tried in the United States. 

These plants can all be made to furnish pasture, 
soiling food, hay and fodder for winter feeding, and 
when the season is long enough to mature seed, they 
can all be made to furnish large yields of grain. It 
is yet premature to say much about the precise rela- 
tive adaptation of these plants for feeding uses. It 
would probably be correct, however, to state that 
Milo maize and teosinte are the most promising 
pasture and soiling plants, that Kaffir corn is the 
most promising fodder plant, especially for dry 
areas, and that dhourra and Jerusalem corn are the 
largest producers of seed. The seeds of all the non- 
saccharine sorghums are excellent for all kinds of 
farm animals, but imless when given to fowls they 
ought to be ground before being fed. 

The yields of fodder will of course vary greatly 
with the variations in soils and in the length of the 
seasons. The}^ will run from a few to many tons. 
The largest yields of soiling food are obtained from 
teosinte and Milo maize. 

Distribution. — The non-saccharine sorghums 
are without exception less hardy than the common 
varieties of corn. Nor are they so hardy as sor- 
ghum is, at least in some of its varieties. It follows 
therefore, that these plants are not likely to succeed 
far northward. Only in the Mississippi basin and 
in the Rocky mountain valleys, with their hot mid- 
summer temperatures, are they likel}^ to succeed in 
the near future north of the fortieth parallel of north 




i^ 

o 



6o SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

latitude, that is to say, north of the parallel which 
runs through Springfield, 111. ; and even in the Mis- 
sissippi basin they can be grown with greater 
success south of that line rather than north of 
the same. In the trials made with the non- 
saccharine sorghums at the Minnesota university 
experiment farm, all the varieties tested pro- 
duced an abundant growth of green food, as will 
be evident from what has previously been said in 
regard to them, but only in a few instances did any 
of the varieties mature seed. These plants are also 
more tender than corn and sorghum in the early 
stages of their growth, and with the exception of 
Milo maize they would seem to be less palatable than 
corn and sorghum. In view of these facts, it is only 
in localities not well adapted to the growth of corn 
and sorghum that the non-saccharine sorghums are 
likely to supersede them. It is not probable, there- 
fore, that they will supersede corn and sorghum 
north from the fortieth parallel of latitude, at least 
not in the near future. Of course it is impossible 
to say how much further to the north the line of suc- 
cessful growth may be pushed when these plants 
become better acclimatized. 

The greater power which the non-saccharine 
sorghums have to grow under conditions too dry for 
the successful growth of corn, furnishes a sufficient 
reason for growing them under such conditions. A 
second reason is found in the greater yields of grain 
which they furnish in many localities in the south. 
A third reason arises from the power which they 
have to grow again when cut. This property, in 
conjunction with the abundance of the food which 



THE NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS. 6l 

they produce, gives them a high place as soiUng 
foods or even as pasture plants where they can be 
successfully grown. 

The highest adaptation for the non-saccharine 
sorghums is found at present west from the Missis- 
sippi river and south from Nebraska, with Kansas, 
Arkansas and Oklahoma as its center. But both 
east and west from these states they can be grown 
profitably over considerable areas. Teosinte has 
higher adaptation to the states which mark the south- 
ern boundary of the Republic, but it may be grown 
successfully as soiling food in the states immediately 
north of these. 

Soil. — All the non-saccharine sorghums would 
seem to have greater power than corn to gather plant 
food in a dry soil. They are therefore relatively 
better adapted than corn to a sandy soil. But it 
would not be correct to say that they have greater 
power to grow in a sandy soil than in a sandy loam, 
nor in a dry climate than in one possessed of con- 
siderable moisture. They would seem also to have 
greater power than corn to gather food in soils low 
in humus, and yet where humus is present in consid- 
erable quantities they grow more vigorously than 
where it is present only in meager supply. All these 
plants gather much of their food in the subsoil, 
hence the nature of the subsoil has an influence on 
their growth not very much less than the surface 
soil. Subsoils, therefore, that contain a layer of 
hardpan which is near the surface are quite unsuited 
to the growth of these plants. 

The most suitable soils are those sandy in tex- 
ture, possessed of a considerable supply of humus 



62 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

and underlaid with clay that is open in character 
rather than retentive. But some of the non-saccha- 
rine sorghums will produce fairly good crops when 
both the soil and subsoil are sandy. Notably is this 
true of Kaffir corn. The sandy soils of the Rocky 
mountain valleys have high adaptation for the non- 
saccharine sorghums, and the same is true of 
much of the land in the southern and south- 
western states. 

Place in the Rotation. — The non-saccharine 
sorghums consume considerable quantities of nitro- 
gen while making their growth, hence the aim should 
be to grow them after nitrogen-gathering crops. 
Since they will grow better on soils possessed of a 
fair quantity of humus, the effort should be made to 
grow them as far as can be done where green 
manures have been buried, and within a reasonably 
recent period. They can therefore with much pro- 
priety be made to come after crimson clover, the 
cowpea, the soy bean, the common vetch, the sand 
vetch and the velvet bean, even though these crops 
should be harvested. They should also be grown 
after such crops as winter rye or rape plowed under, 
and on overturned sod when the conditions may 
admit of so doing. But they may of course be given 
almost any place in the rotation when a due regard 
is had to the fertility of the soil. 

Cultivation is also iisually given to these crops 
during the growing period, hence they may be 
classed as cleaning crops. This means that they 
ought to be followed by grain crops where these can 
be successfully grown, and grass seeds should be 
sown on the grain crops. But in some sections 



THE NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS. 03 

where these crops can be successfully grown, the 
conditions are too dry to admit of the successful 
growth of the grasses that are ordinarily cultivated. 
In such locations some winter crop could be made 
to follow these crops, since the ground is in excellent 
condition to receive it, and this could be done 
with but little additional preparation of the land by 
way of tillage. These crops include winter rye, the 
vrinter vetch, the sand vetch, crimson clover, and in 
some localities, alfalfa. 

Preparing the Soil. — The preparation of the 
land for these crops is much the same as for corn. 
The aim should be to secure a free, firm and moist 
seed bed in sections low in the amount of the rainfall. 
I'his can best be secured by plowing the land as long 
as possible previous to the planting of the seed, and 
by harrowing the surface of the land thus plowed at 
intervals of more or less duration. This method of 
managing land will also be very helpful in removing 
weeds from the uppermost section of the soil. These 
crops are planted later than corn and even later than 
sorghum, hence the season is more prolonged during 
which such treatment can be given to the land. 
Sometimes in areas much deficient in moisture the 
plan termed ''listing" is adopted in growing some 
of these crops, as in growing corn. When this 
method of planting is followed, the soil is not first 
plowed. Furrows are turned both ways from the 
line where the seed is to be planted. The work is 
done by using a double-mold-board plow, which 
also loosens the soil for some distance below the line 
of the furrow. In the soil thus loosened the 
seed is planted. The object sought is to enable 



64 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

the plants to gather moisture under circumstances 
more favorable than would result from ordinary 
cultivation. 

When rainfall is usually abundant, the aim 
should be to secure friability rather than impac- 
tion in the surface soil, hence it would have to 
be more deeply stirred during the preparatory 
cleaning process. But when these crops come 
after a winter crop pastured off or plowed under, 
there is not much time for thus attempting to 
clean the land. 

The fertilizers suitable for non-saccharine sor- 
ghums are practically the same as those suitable for 
sorghum. When, however, farmyard manure is 
applied under very dry climatic conditions, it must 
not be applied in large quantities lest the too rapid 
escape of moisture near the surface of the soil should 
be promoted. 

Solving the Seed. — The method adopted in 
sowing the seed of these crops w^ll vary somewhat 
with the kind of crop, with the percentage of mois- 
ture present in the soil, Avith the percentage in the 
same that may be expected in the growing season, 
and with the precise object sought in growing the 
different varieties. The more branching, for 
instance, the habit of growth in the plants, the more 
distant from one another do they require to be 
grown. The less the degree of moisture the more 
distant also should they be from one another. If 
fineness of leaf and stem are sought, the plants may. 
under some conditions be sown broadcast or 
with the grain drill on w^hat may be termed the 
broadcast plan. But when a more vigorous and 



THE NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS. 65 

luxurious growth is sought, then the seed should be 
planted in rows and cultivated. The latter sys- 
tem will be more commonly adopted where moisture 
is deficient. 

When sown on the broadcast plan, the aim 
should be to plant with the ordinary grain drill all 
the tubes being in use, or only every alternate tube. 
as may be desired. When sow^n in rows far enough 
apart to admit of cultivation being given, the same 
implement may be used, but of course various other 
seed planters may also be used. The rows should be 
from thirty to, say, forty-two inches distant, accord- 
ing to circumstances, except in the case of teosinte, 
v/hich should, at least when grown for certain uses, 
have a greater distance between the rows. But the 
most suitable distance for placing the rows when 
growing these crops can only be determined with 
precision in each locality by actual experience in 
growing them. 

The time for planting will depend on the 
location and the character of the weather. It would 
be a mistake, however, to plant the seeds before the 
weather had become steadily warm. The plants are 
less able when young to endure cold than corn in 
nearly all its varieties, and than sorghum in its 
leading varieties. At the Minnesota university 
experiment station low temperatures prevailed dur- 
ing two or three weeks subsequent to the planting of 
these crops in 1897. Corn in some of its varieties 
made a fairly good start notwithstanding, and the 
Early Amber variety of sorghum maintained its hold 
upon the soil. The non-saccharine sorghums with- 
out exception only partially germinated, although 

5 



66 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

the conditions were precisely the same. It was 
necessary to plant the non-saccharine sorghums a 
second time. 

The amount of seed required will vary with the 
climatic and soil conditions and with the character 
of the produce sought. The more favorable the 
attendant conditions, the greater should be the 
amount of seed sown when growth fine in character 
is sought, and since the plants of some of these sor- 
ghums produce more stalks and foliage than others, 
it is not necessary with the former to plant so much 
seed. Notably is this true of teosinte, and in a less 
degree of Milo maize. When planted in rows where 
cultivation is to be given other than harrowing, a 
few pounds of seed will suffice for an acre. But 
when these crops are sown broadcast, from about 
one-half bushel to one and one-half bushels of seed 
per acre are used. 

Cultivation. — When the non-saccharine sor- 
ghums are planted with any kind of drill or planter, 
they may be harrowed without hazard to the plants 
just as they begin to push up through the ground, 
providing the harrow is light, and that when in use 
a backward slant is given to the teeth. Later, on 
certain soils, as those quite loose in character, such 
as the humus soils of the prairie, seme form of 
weeder may be used in many instances, more espe- 
cially when the plants are in rows distant from one 
another. When thus planted, further cultivation 
should be given with more or less frequency. It 
should be sufficient to destro}^ weeds and to retain 
moisture in the soil to the greatest extent practicable. 
Where moisture is usually more or less wanting, the 



THE NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS. 6/ 

crops should in all instances be so planted that they 
may be cultivated. 

Feeding. — The non-saccharine sorghums and 
also teosinte can be cut for soiling food from one to 
several times in one season. More particularly is 
this true of Milo maize and teosinte. The same 
mode of ciitting, carting and feeding may be adopted 
as in handling sorghum (see Page 47). The cut- 
ting may begin at any time after sufficient growth 
has been made to justify the same, and the residue 
of the crop not wanted for green food may be allowed 
to mature. When sufficiently matured, it can be 
harvested and fed in winter. The ration is improved 
by feeding these crops in conjunction with one of 
the legumes, as, for instance, alfalfa, vetches, cow- 
peas or soy beans. In many instances it would be 
possible to feed them thus, since one or more of the 
legumes named can be successfully grown under 
conditions suitable for the successful growth of the 
non-saccharine sorghums. 



CHAPTER V. 

PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 

Many kinds of clover are now being grown in 
this country. Some of tliese are indigenous, but 
those possessed of highest economic value have been 
introduced from Europe. While each kind has 
a mission of usefulness in some section or sections 
of the continent, only a few are suitable in 
any marked degree for being grown as soiling food. 
The chief of these are the common or medium red, 
the mammoth, alsike, crimson and alfalfa. As the 
niethods of growing the first four varieties are in 
many respects very similar, they will be considered 
together. Alfalfa will be discussed by itself, since 
it differs considerably from the other clovers men- 
tioned in habits of growth, and for this reason 
requires different management. 

MEDIUM, MAMMOTH, ALSIKE AND CRIMSON CLOVER. 

Medium red clover (TrifoUum pratense) is 
biennial and perennial in its habit of growth, accord- 
ing to the climatic and other conditions under which 
it is grown. It differs from the other three kinds 
in the continuity of its grow^th throughout all or 
nearly all of the growing season. Because of this 
peculiarity it usuallv produces two cuttings of soiling 

68 



PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 69 

food or hay in one season, whereas, the others only 
produce one. 

Mammoth clover (Trifolium medium) is also 
biennial and perennial in its habit of growth. It 
differs from the other clovers in the stronger char- 
acter of the top and root growth which characterizes 
it. The- food which it produces is in consequence 
coarser in character, unless when the plants are 
grown very thickly. It is better adapted than the 
medium variety to soils that are medium or less than 
tljat in fertility. The bloom on both the medium 
and mammoth varieties is a beautiful red. To the 
casual observer the only differences apparent in the 
varieties while they are growing are the larger leaf, 
stem and head of the mammoth variety. 

Alsike clover (Trifolium hyhridum) is a peren- 
nial plant. The period of its duration is dependent 
on such conditions as pertain to climate, soil and 
treatment. All of the clovers under discussion will 
live longer than they otherwise would if prevented 
from producing seed. This kind differs from all 
the others in the greater fineness of the growth and 
in the beautiful blending of white and red tints in 
the bloom. 

Crimson or Scarlet clover (Trifolium incarna- 
tum) is an annual plant, that is to say, it completes 
the cycle of its existence within twelve months from 
the date of sowing the seed, although more com- 
monly it is sown one year and reaped the next. It 
differs from the other clovers in the shape of the 
heads, which are oblong and cone-shaped, in the 
rich scarlet color of the bloom, and in the more 
hairy character of the stems, a property which 



70 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

detracts from its feeding value when grown for 
hay.. 

While clover of all the species named furnishes 
an excellent soiling food, it is not so commonly 
grown for such a use, for the reason, first, that the 
yield per acre is much less than that of many other 
foods grown for soiling; second, that ordinarily it 
is so easily cured for hay, and, third, that it is so 
easily handled when cured. The crimson clover is 
ready to be cut for soiling food before the spring 
months have gone, or some weeks before the medium, 
which in turn is ready in from two to three week? 
in advance of the mammoth and alsike. The value 
of the crimson clover as a soiling food is thus some- 
what lessened by the necessity for thus cutting and 
feeding it when pasture is plentiful and succulent. 

Clover furnishes excellent soiling food for 
horses, cattle, sheep and swine, but when fed to sheep 
and swine it should be cut at a stage somewhat earlier 
than when fed to horses and cows, to secure more 
fineness in the growth. When fed to cattle and 
sheep it should be somewhat restricted in quantity 
at first, or else wilted before it is fed, as the unre- 
strained feeding of fresh cut clover will sometimes 
cause bloating, which if not speedily relieved may 
result fatally. 

The yield of soiling food from all these kinds 
of clover varies, of course, with the conditions under 
which they are grown. It will be approximately 
correct to place the average yield of the first cutting 
of medium clover for soiling uses at six tons per 
acre, and of the second cutting the same season at 
four tons. But these yields can be increased at 



PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 7I 

least 50 per cent by judicious cultivation. The 
yield from each of the other varieties is somewhat 
greater than that obtained from the first cutting 
of the medium clover, but it is likewise some- 
what less than that obtained from the two cut- 
tings of the latter. 

Distribution. — The clover zone in the United 
States and Canada covers the entire portion of the 
arable land. But there are stretches of country, 
nevertheless, in which clover of any of the species 
heretofore introduced has not been grown with any 
marked success. One of these stretches lies east of 
the Rocky mountains in what is usually spoken of 
as the semi-arid belt. In this area it perishes from 
want of moisture. Another stretch lies to the north 
of Minnesota and North Dakota, where the low 
winter temperatures forbid the successful growth of 
clover. In some limited areas of these stretches, 
some kinds of clover can be grown, but it cannot be 
said of the same that they have high adaptation for 
growing clover, nor can any of the clovers now 
under discussion be grown with marked success in 
the southern states, unless it be the crimson. The 
summer heat is not favorable to its development. 

The distribution of the medium, mammoth and 
alsike species of clover is about the same, but the 
alsike can be grown somewhat farther north than the 
medium or the mammoth. Above the 50th parallel 
these clovers are not a success, nor are they a marked 
success below the 38th parallel, unless in very limited 
areas. In much of the country between these 
parallels they can be grown with more or less suc- 
cess, save in the semi-arid country beside the Rocky 



y2 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

mountains and east of them, and in the cold country 
lying north and south from the eastern half of the 
St. Lawrence river. The highest adaptation for 
these clovers is found south of the 50th parallel and 
beside the Pacific, including also the Rocky mountain 
valleys when supplied with moisture. Next in 
adaptation comes what was originally the forest 
country, including certain prairie lands, which, 
although not originally covered with timber, will 
produce it readily. This belt lies between the upper 
Mississippi and the New England states. The New 
England states and the Maritime provinces of 
Canada will grow clover, but not with that 
luxuriance which characterizes its growth in the 
other areas named. The greatest clover-growing 
states on the continent include Michigan, Wisconsin, 
eastern Minnesota, Iowa, northern Missouri, 
Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and parts of Montana and 
Washington. It also grows with superlative 
luxuriance in southern Ontario. 

Crimson clover thrives best in a climate some- 
what warmer than is suitable for the other kinds. 
The highest adaptation for this plant is probably 
foimd in the Atlantic and Gulf states, southward 
from New York city. It is not usually grown with 
much success north of the latitude of Columbus, O., 
that is to say, north of the 40th parallel. But for a 
short distance north of that line it may be grown in 
good form along the Atlantic coast and for a much 
greater distance north of the same latitude along the 
Pacific coast. Unless well protected, crimson clover 
cannot withstand low temperatures. When the 
medium, mammoth and alsike clover grow at their 



PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 73 

best, crimson clover can seldom, or never, be grown 
with equal success. 

'Soils. — All the species of clover under discus- 
sion will grow better in soils having in them a very 
decided clay element. When sufficiently supplied 
with moisture, these clovers will even grow 
vigorously in clays of the stiffest texture. They 
grow better in clay loams than in sandy loams, but in 
fertile sands, such as abound in many of the Rocky 
mountain valleys, they will make a wonderful 
growth when plentifully supplied with water. The 
volcanic origin of many of these soils, however, may 
account for their wonderful adaptation to the 
production of clover. The humus soils of the prairie 
will produce clover abundantly when there is in them 
enough clay to make them measurably dense, but 
when this element is so far lacking as to allow them 
to lift with the winds, they do not possess highest, 
adaptation for clover. In fact, it cannot be success- 
fully grown upon these, unless in exceptional 
instances, until the land becomes impacted by 
cultivation more or less prolonged. Soil adaptation 
in the medium red and mammoth red clovers is about 
the same. Ordinarily they grow in what may be 
termed deep, moist, friable clays, underlaid with a 
subsoil of clay of medium density. They grow least 
well on soils impregnated with alkali and on infertile 
sands, more especially w^hen these are ill supplied 
with moisture. 

Those soils usually spoken of as swamp lands 
have special adaptation for the growth of alsike 
clover when they rest on a clay subsoil, and when 
the water table has been sufficiently lowered in them 



74 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

by some form of drainage. But alsike clover will also 
grow well in some of those lands which have highest 
adaptation for the medium, red and mammoth sorts, 
more especially those of them that are strongly 
spiced with clay. The ordinary upland prairie does 
not seem well suited to the production of alsike 
clover, more especially when this soil is lacking in 
moisture. While crimson clover will flourish on 
soils well adapted to the growth of the other red 
clovers, it would seem to have more adaptation for 
sandy soils than these. Much of the soil in the chief 
centers for growing crimson clover is sandy in tex- 
ture. This greater adaptation arises probably in 
part from the great power the plants have to gather 
food, and in part from the moist character of the 
climate in crimson clover centers during those por- 
tions of the year in which the crop is produced. 

Place in the Rotation. — As clover is a soil reno- 
vator, the aim should be, flrst, to grow it on land in 
which it is specially desirable to increase the supply 
of nitrogen; second, on land where it is to be fol- 
lowed by a crop that requires an abundant supply 
of nitrogen in the soil to enable it to produce abun- 
dantly. It should also be sown on land that is at 
least measurably clean, as an abundant growth of 
weeds in the crop will not only lessen the yield, but 
will impair its feeding value in proportion as they 
are present. There is special fitness, therefore, in 
laying down to clover, land that has produced a crop 
to which clean cultivation was given, as, for instance, 
a crop of corn, potatoes or field roots. And the 
reasons are equally good for following the clover 
crop with wheat, oats or barley, corn or potatoes. 



PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 75 

In some sections it is common to grow medium 
red clover, corn or potatoes and small grain in a three 
years' rotation. When the conditions are suitable 
the plan is an admirable one. But few methods of 
crop production will compare with it in the easy 
maintenance of soil fertility and in the profits that 
grow out of the system. The other leading kinds 
of clover, however, are not so well adapted as the 
medium for such a rotation. The mammoth does 
not produce a second growth, for being plowed under, 
as does the common red. The alsike is perennial in 
its habit of growth, and the crimson is better adapted 
to another form of rotation, as will be shown below. 

The medium and mammoth clovers may, never- 
theless, be made to fit into any kind of a rotation. 
The aim should be to grow them at short rather than 
at long intervals in the rotation, and for several 
reasons. First, as previously intimated, they have 
great power to enrich the land by depositing in it 
nitrogen drawn from the air; second, they have 
much power to gather supplies of phosphoric acid 
and potash in the subsoil, much of which is deposited 
again in the cultivable strata; third, they improve 
the mechanical condition of the land by the abun- 
dance of the vegetable deposit contained in the roots, 
and, fourth, the humus thus supplied greatly 
increases the power of the land to hold moisture, 
whether it comes from above or below. There is 
probably no other plant grown that is capable of 
exercising so beneficent an influence on farming. 

The place for crimson clover is, properly speak- 
ing, that of a catch crop. It is usually grown as the 
antecedent of or the consequent to some other crop 



76 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

grown the same season. And this is true of it 
whether it is grown for pasture, for soiHng food, for 
hay or for green manure. It may with much pro- 
priety be preceded by such quick-growing early sum- 
mer crops as vegetables and certain of the early 
maturing cereals, and followed by such crops as pota- 
toes, corn or any of the sorghums, and on soils low 
in fertility by cowpeas or soy beans. 

Preparing the Soil. — In preparing the soil for 
clover seed in any of its varieties, the aim should be 
to secure a seed bed fine, firm, deep, moist and clean. 
It should be fine that the clover seeds may be more 
perfectly hidden from the light, and that the tender, 
tiny rootlets may easily ramify the soil in search of 
food. It should be firm to prevent evaporation, too 
rapid from the surface. It should be deep to allow^ 
the tap roots to go down readily. But in light sands, 
or spongy loam soils of the prairie, shallow^ cultiva- 
tion would be preferable unless done a good while 
previously to the sowing of the seed because of the 
difficulty of sufficiently firming such soils. It should 
be moist to promote quick germination and rapid 
grow^th. It should be clean to secure an abundant 
growth in the clover and to produce a good quality 
of food. 

The first of these conditions may be more 
readily secured when the soil is plowed in the 
autumn, and such plowing is also favorable to secur- 
ing all the conditions named. Deep plowing can be 
done much more advantageously in the fall than in 
the spring, where fall plowing is in order. But in 
climates with much rainfall in winter, autumn plow- 
ing may be less judicious than spring plowing. 



PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. ^J 

especially where the soil contains much clay. The 
winter rains cause it to "run together" in a way that 
increases the labor of subsequent cultivation, and 
that further imperils the abundant and vigorous 
growth of the plants. Some soils are so friable that 
they call for but little pulverization; other soils, as 
clays, are oftentimes cloddy on the surface. It is 
especially important that these shall be made fine by 
the repeated use of the roller and harrow. Firmness 
in the seed bed may be secured by plowing the land a 
considerable time previous to the sowing of the seed, 
or by using the roller freely on it. Autumn plowed 
lands always furnish a seed bed more firm than those 
that are spring plowed, a fact of much significance 
in cultivating the soils of the northwestern prairies. 
When firming some classes of these soils, by running 
a heavy roller over them, it may be necessary to 
follow the roller with a light harrow to prevent them 
being more or less carried away by the wind. Deep 
cultivation is secured, of course, by simply plowing 
more deeply, and in some instances by subsoiling. 

In some sections of the prairie the growth of 
clover is greatly promoted by plowing so deeply that 
some of the firmer subsoil shall be brought to the 
surface. But with nearly all classes of soils, if much 
of the subsoil were brought to the surface at one 
time the influence on plant growth at the first would 
be harmful, because of the unameliorated condition 
of such subsoils. The management that secures a 
fine tilth and a firm seed bed will also tend to increase 
the moisture in the land. When the clover seed is 
sown early in the spring, a clean seed bed can only 
be secured by cultivation given the previous season. 



y^ SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

but when sowing the seed is deferred until late in 
the spring or until summer, the seed bed may be 
made clean near the surface by the frequent use of 
the harrow^ between the opening of spring and the 
sowing of the seed. 

When growing clover for soiling, it is very 
important that heavy yields shall be obtained, since 
a heavy crop is so much easier to gather than a light 
one. The former ma}^ easily be lifted, and with 
sufficient cleanness, without using a rake; whereas, 
the latter would require to be raked, thus adding very 
much to the labor of gathering the crop, and to the 
area of land required to grow it. One great advan- 
tage from growing soiling crops, viz., that of 
intensive production, would thus be defeated. It 
is always expedient, therefore, to make land quite 
rich that is to grow clover for soiling, when it is not 
so already, by the addition of fertilizers. Of these, 
farmyard manure is certainly one of the best; and 
when applied it will of course feed the nurse crop as 
well as the clover. The kind or kinds of commercial 
fertilizer or fertilizers that may be employed with 
most advantage wdll depend upon the needs of the 
land. Nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash are 
most frequently needed, but in quantities that vary 
according to conditions, and in many instances 
lime acts very beneficially. On some soils the 
growing of the clover is greatly stimulated by sow- 
ing on the young plants when the period of growth 
is beginning or has already begun, an application of 
gypsum, usually not less than too pounds per acre 
and not more than 300 pounds. In other instances, 
marked benefit results from sowing wood ashes. 



PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 79 

leached or unleached, on the crop previous to the 
season of active growth. The appHcation of leached 
ashes should be about four times as heavy as that of 
unleached ashes, that is to say, it may run from about 
200 bushels per acre upward. 

Sozving the Seed. — Clover seed may be sown by 
handj by using- a hand seed sower, or by the grain 
drill with, and, in some instances, without an attach- 
ment for sowing grass seeds. Which of these 
methods should be adopted will depend on various 
conditions, such as relate to soils and soil properties 
and to the machinery that is available. When the 
seed is sown by hand, the aim should be to sow with 
two hands rather than with one, and to distribute the 
seeds quite evenly. The seed can be carried in a 
seed box or sack suspended at a suitable hight against 
the breast of the sow^er and kept in place by the use 
of shoulder straps. Much care should be taken to 
choose a still time for hand sowing the seed, as, for 
instance, the early morning, and also a condition of 
soil that hinders its undue adherence to the feet 
of the sower. 

That form of hand seeder which is wheeled on 
the land on a hand barrow frame distributes the seed 
more evenly than would be possible in sowing by the 
method just described, and it can be sown when the 
winds are blowing at a rate that would forbid scat- 
tering the seed by hand at such a time. When the 
seed can be sown with the grain drill, the saving in 
labor is very considerable and the work is also done 
in excellent form. When it is desired to bury the 
seed deeply, as on spongy prairie soils, it may be 
thus planted by mixing the clover seed along with 



8o SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

the grain. When a less covering- is sought, as in 
sowing under average conditions, the seed is allowed 
to fall in front of the drill tubes, and when a still 
lighter covering is desired, as when the seed falls 
on heavy soils, it is covered by using a roller on the 
land after the seed has thus been dropped upon its 
surface. And in yet other instances, as when the 
soil is quite heavy and ample moisture is assured, 
the seed thus deposited is frequently allowed to lie 
unburied. But when a light covering can be secured 
for clover seed, the germination of the seed is more 
certain and the ability of the young plants to with- 
stand dry weather is increased. 

The quantity of seed required will vary with 
the variety sown, with the richness of the soil, and 
with the proportion of seed of other grass plants that 
may be sown along with the clover. When clover 
is sown alone, from ten to fifteen pounds per acre 
of the crimson clover are usually sown, but some- 
times a less quantity, from ten to twelve pounds 
of the medium red and mammoth species and from 
four to six pounds of the alsike. The difference in 
relative quantities sown arises chiefly from the dif- 
ference in the relative size of the seeds and the 
difference in the capacity of the plants for stooling. 
The richer the soil also the less the quantity of the 
seed required, and the amount of clover that ought 
to be sown will of course be reduced as grass seeds 
are added to the seed sown. 

Since clover, when it grows vigorously, is liable 
to lie down when sown alone, it is considered advan- 
tageous to sow along with it the seed of some grass, 
that the grass plants thus produced may sustain the 



PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 8 1 

clover. Timothy is more commonly grown thus 
than any other grass, because of its very general 
adaptation, but in some localities tall oat grass may 
better serve the end sought, since it is about as early 
as clover in its habit of growth. As timothy matures 
about the same time as the alsike and mammoth 
clovers, it is more suitable for being sown along 
with these than with the medium sort. But it 
should not be sown with the expectation that it will 
furnish a support to crimson clover, because of the 
much more rapid grow^th of the clover. For every 
pound of the seed that is added to the mixture sown, 
the clover seed should be reduced in the same propor- 
tion, and sometimes the reduction in the clover 
should be greater relatively. But it is seldom neces- 
sary to have the timothy seed form more than one- 
third of the quantity of seed sown. 

The period for sowing clover may be made to 
cover all the spring months, and in some instances 
the early summer months, but the medium, mammoth 
and alsike clovers are more commonly sown in early 
spring. They should seldom be sown in autumn, 
as the young plants cannot endure the cold of the 
winter following. But to this there may be some 
exceptions. In some instances the seed is sown 
while the old snow yet lingers, but when thus sown 
some of the seed is liable to be carried away with 
the vanishing snows, when the melting of the latter 
is hastened by warm rains. At other times it is 
sown when the ground is honeycombed by spring 
frosts. The seed is thus covered by the action of 
frost and sun. In other instances it is sown on a 
light fall of snow, usually spoken of as ''sugar 
6 



82 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

snow." When the latter melts it frequently carries 
much of the seed down into the soil. Clover seed 
is seldom if ever sown thus early, except with a nurse 
crop of winter wheat or rye. Usually it would be a 
safer way to defer sowing the seed until the surface 
of the soil has so dried that when the seed is sown 
it may be covered with the harrow. The harrow- 
ing if properly done is beneficial to the nurse crop as 
well as the clover seed. But in some instances the 
harrow cannot be used, as in clay soils, which remain 
unduly moist in the spring. 

When clover seed is sown with a nurse crop of 
spring grain, as, for instance, barley, wheat or oats, 
it should be covered more or less deeply; the later 
the period of sowing the more imperative is it that 
the seed should be so covered. Where moisture is 
usually sufficiently plentiful, the plan of sowing 
clover seed with a nurse crop is commendable. But 
all nurse crops are not equally favorable to the 
growth of the clover. Those which are most favor- 
able include barley and winter rye ; those which are 
least favorable include such crops as oats and millet. 
But when clover is sown with a nurse crop and the 
weather turns dry, if the nurse crop can be pastured 
off, or cut at some stage previous to that of maturity, 
the hazard to the young clover plants will be so far 
lessened, as they are then deprived to a smaller 
extent of the strengthening influences of sunlight 
and moisture. On the soils of the prairie, so light 
that they are springy to the tread, a good stand of 
clover may frequently be obtained by sowing it with 
a crop that is to be pastured, as, for instance, a crop 
of mixed cereals or rape. The treading of the live 



PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 83 

stock Avould seem to react beneficially to the young 
clover plants by impacting the soil near the surface 
and thus lessening the loss of moisture through sur- 
face evaporation. Sheep are considered more suit- 
able for such pasturing than cattle or swine. 

But there may be instances when a stand of 
clover can best be secured by sowing it alone, as when 
the normal supply of moisture is low. When thus 
sown, the soil should be made as clean as possible 
before sowing the seed. It may not be possible thus 
to clean the land when the seed is sown early, but 
it may be cleaned, at least measurably well, by sur- 
face cultivation, when the seed is deposited late in 
the season. When sown on weed infested land, the 
weeds should be kept down with the mowing 
machine. 

Crimson clover is not usually sown earlier than 
July, and it is not considered wise to sow it later 
than September, unless in the mildest portions of the 
south. Near the northern limit of production it is 
thought more or less hazardous to sow later than 
August. If the plants enter the winter in a weak 
condition, the danger is imminent that they will 
perish before spring. When preparing the land, it 
is sometimes thought preferable to seek fine surface 
cultivation without plowing the land, rather than the 
deep cultivation which plowing secures. In some 
instances, as on clean land, from which early vege- 
tables have been harvested, the seed may be at once 
sown and covered with the harrow. In other 
instances it is sown in the standing corn and cov- 
ered lightly with the last cultivation given to the 
corn crop. There may be instances when it would 



84 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

be proper to sow it amid grain stubbles and to cover 
it with the harrow. It is manifest that the methods 
of sowing this crop are various. To so great an 
extent is this true that it would not be prudent to try- 
to give directions that would precisely meet the needs 
of each locality. 

Cultivation. — Clover does not require any culti- 
vation in the sense in which drilled corn and sorghum 
call for the same. But it is important that it shall 
not be grazed too closely the first season, lest its 
power to withstand winter weather shall be unduly 
weakened. In a large majority of instances it 
should not be pastured or mowed the first year w^hen 
it has been sown with a nurse crop. But in some 
seasons it may grow so rank that by its own weight 
it would smother underneath the snow, unless pas- 
tured more or less. In some localities quite favor- 
able to the growth of clover, it will produce seed the 
first year unless means are taken to prevent it from 
doing so. To allow the plants to produce seed the 
first year will materially tend to weaken their growth 
the second year. To prevent such a result, such 
clover should be cut by the mow^er set high and when 
it is coming into bloom. The plants cut off should 
be allowed to lie where they fell. They will act as 
a mulch to protect the crop. But when clover is 
sown early and not along with a nurse crop, there 
may be instances, not a few, when it would be advis- 
able to cut it for hay or green food. 

Feeding. — The harvesting of green clover for 
soiling in all its varieties may begin as soon as the 
first heads appear, but more food will be secured if 
the cutting: is deferred until the crimson tint on the 



PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 85 

heads is pronounced. The cutting and feeding of 
the crop as green food may be continued as long as 
the plants are eaten with a relish by live stock. When 
ready for being made into hay, it is common not to 
feed it longer as green food. This stage will be 
reached by the time that the crop is in complete 
bloom.- It is manifest, therefore, that the period for 
using clover as soiling food is a short one, not longer 
usually than from two to three weeks, and if a plat 
or field of alsike, or mammoth clover has also been 
sown in addition to the medium red clover, it will 
prolong the feeding for about an equal period. The 
tw^o crops, therefore, will provide green food for five 
or six weeks in succession. The medium red clover 
will also furnish a secortd cutting of soiling food 
which will be available in about six or seven weeks 
subsequent to the first cutting, when grown under 
normal conditions. The period of cutting will vary 
from about June ist to July ist north of the 
40th parallel. 

The green food is cut daily or every other day, 
as may be desired, by using the scythe or field mower, 
and is fed in pastures, paddocks or from feed racks 
in the yards, as may be thought most advisable. In 
large quantities it is of course drawn on a truck or 
wagon. When cut with the mower it should not lie 
many hours in very bright weather without being 
"bunched," as it will soon lose so much moisture that 
its succulence will be too much lessened. A little 
wilting tends to obviate the danger from bloating in 
the animals to which it is fed. This danger with 
cattle and sheep is always imminent in some degree 
when green clover is fed in a very succulent condi- 



50 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

tion and unstinted in quality, when the animals are 
hungry. And the danger is further increased by 
dampness caused by rain or dew. 

ALFALFA. 

Alfalfa (Medicago satwa), sometimes called 
lucern, has a higher adaptation for soiling than any 
other plant of the clover family. This arises, first, 
from the rapid and prolonged character of its 
growth'; second, from its long-lived character; and, 
third, from the excellent quality of the food which 
it produces. Alfalfa is ready for being cut as green 
food at least two weeks earlier than medium red 
clover, and in some insljances it will yield a cutting 
every month thereafter during the season. There 
are some favored sections in the United States in 
which, by judicious managment, alfalfa may be cut 
and fed as green food every month in the year. The 
duration of alfalfa meadows will depend in a great 
measure on the conditions of soil and subsoil, more 
especially the latter, while it will sometimes fail 
within a few years from the date of sowing; in other 
instances, it will continue to grow and thrive indefi- 
nitely. Alfalfa meadows are now in existence which 
have been mowed every year for more than forty 
years. But of course the average duration does not 
cover nearly so long a period. The excellent quality 
of the food arises in part from its nitrogenous char- 
acter and in part from its palatability. 

In view of the pre-eminent suitability of this 
plant for soiling purposes, it seems strange that this 
fact has not been more generally recognized by 




(87) 



Fig. 10. Alfalfa, Single Plant 

Minnesota University Experiment Farm. 



88 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

farmers. Under favorable conditions it would be 
easy to obtain abundant supplies of green food from 
alfalfa from spring until fall at a less cost than it can 
be obtained from any other source. 

Green alfalfa is not only relished by horses, 
cattle, sheep and swine of all ages, but it is specially 
adapted to their needs. When fed freely to young 
animals it promotes a large and vigorous growth. 
Along with suitable grain adjuncts, it will fatten 
animals quickly and will give them a fine finish. 
Lambs can be raised upon this food alone, in addi- 
tion to the milk furnished by their dams. And with 
but a limited addition of more carbonaceous food, 
swine may be raised upon it until ready for the block. 
Of course during the fattening period, grain must 
be the chief reliance. But to no class of stockmen 
is green alfalfa of more benefit than to dairymen. It 
is excellent for milk production, and the long season 
during which it is accessible further accentuates its 
value. Of course, in the green form, it should be 
fed with some restriction to horses at work, but for 
all other classes of horses it makes excellent food. 
It is also helpful when fed to fowls. Other things 
being equal, meat and milk cannot be produced any- 
where more cheaply than in areas possessed of high 
adaptation for growing alfalfa. 

The yields of green food furnished per acre for 
the season vary with the number and strength of the 
cuttings to be obtained. There are localities in 
which alfalfa will grow, and yet the yields obtained 
are not equal to those which would be obtained from 
an equal area of red clover. In these it should not 
be grown. The number of cuttings obtained per 



PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 89 

season in the green form varies from one to seven or 
eight, but the average may be stated as four, and 
the yield per cutting may be put at four to six tons 
per acre. In areas not a few, therefore, from sixteen 
to twenty-four tons of green alfalfa may be obtained 
per acre from season to season, and with no other 
labor after the crop has been established than that 
of opening the sluices which let in the irrigating 
waters. Nor are those alfalfa lands likely to become 
exhausted soon, because of the extent of the subsoil 
from which they draw food supplies. 

Distribution. — But few plants are of wider dis- 
tribution than alfalfa. While it is not able to endure 
temperatures so low as some of the real clovers, it 
will thrive in latitudes too warm and dry to produce 
these kinds in good form. The growth of alfalfa 
would seem to be more hedged in by conditions that 
relate to soil and subsoil than by those which relate 
to climate. Because of these limitations, alfalfa will 
yield abundantly in certain areas within a state, and 
in other areas in close proximity to them it cannot 
be grown at all. It can probably be successfully 
grown in portions of each state in the Union. So 
wide is its distribution that it is successfully grown 
in some portions of Quebec, Ontario and British 
Columbia in Canada. 

But the distinctive alfalfa belt of the United 
States lies west of the Mississippi and south of the 
^lissouri. It embraces nearly every Rocky moun- 
tain valley from Canada to Mexico. It includes 
areas possessed of subterranean waters, not too dis- 
tant from the surface, as well as those which it may 
be necessary to irrigate at certain seasons; also 



90 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

certain tillable upland, soils in several states which 
cannot be subjected to irrigation. The variety known 
as the Turkestan, recently introduced by the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture at Washington, is proving so 
hardy, that it is now thought it can be successfully 
grown in areas that are too dry and too cold for the 
successful growth of the kinds heretofore grown. 

While alfalfa will produce well in some rainy 
climates, it has higher adaptation for those that are 
dry, up to a certain limit. Drenching rains which 
literally saturate the ground with water are harmful 
to it rather than helpful. And in climates where 
the period of growth is long, this crop is propor- 
tionately more helpful than in those where it is short. 
It is not a little surprising that a soiling crop so 
useful should not have been grown to a greater 
extent in the past in the lower Atlantic and Gulf 
states, since the conditions in certain areas of these 
are quite favorable. With the greater need that is 
now being felt for a supply of such foods, the produc- 
tion of alfalfa will doubtless greatly increase in the 
near future. 

Soil. — The soil and subsoil more than anything 
else are potent factors in determining where alfalfa 
may and may not be grown. And of these the sub- 
soil is the more important. The reasons will be at 
once apparent when it is remembered that alfalfa 
roots grow deeply and that the major portion of the 
food obtained from the earth by the plants comes 
from the subsoil rather than from the soil. The soil 
conditions most favorable to the growth of alfalfa are 
found in loam soils, inclining to sand or gravel, and 
spiced with a goodh^ increment of clay. But alfalfa 



PLANTS OB' THE CLOVER FAMILY. 9 1 

will frequently flourish in clay soils with no slight 
degree of adhesion in them, providing the subsoil 
condition's are suitable. The vegetable soils of the 
western prairies are not usually well adapted to the 
growth of alfalfa. The volcanic soils of the Rocky 
mountain region furnish ideal conditions when suffi- 
ciently" supplied with moisture. 

In a subsoil in which alfalfa roots are to grow 
vigorously, the most important requisite is that it 
should be easily penetrable. Ideal conditions are 
sometimes found for starting an alfalfa crop success- 
fully, and yet the plants soon fail because of the 
impenetrable character of the subsoil. The second 
great requisite in the subsoil is, it should be deep. 
The necessary depth w^ill vary, but it should not be 
less than several feet to provide ample feeding 
ground for the roots; and a third requisite is that 
the subsoil should be moist. But at all seasons of 
the year it should be free from stagnant water to the 
depth of several feet from the surface. These con- 
ditions are best obtained in certain of the almost 
rainless river valleys of the west. If the soils and 
subsoils are sandy or gravelly, and underneath them 
are sheets of water at varying depths, the plants are 
supplied with moisture from this water through the 
process of capillary attraction. With similar con- 
ditions of soil and subsoil, except that the ground 
water is absent, the alfalfa plants would perish unless 
irrigated. This explains why alfalfa cannot be 
grown in wide areas of the semi-arid country west 
of the Mississippi, where the soil and subsoil requi- 
sites are all that could be desired, but for the absence 
of the ground waters. 



92 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

In the absence of irrigation and also of marked 
humidity in the chmate, what may be termed mild 
clay subsoils furnish the best subsoil conditions for 
growing alfalfa. In these it gathers suitable food. 
These subsoils, oftentimes, possess a sufficiency of 
moisture through all the season to sustain good crops. 
Of course, in dry seasons the subsoil moisture riiay 
become so reduced as to materially interfere with 
abundant production. But in climates of average 
humidity, they are satisfactory for growing this crop. 

Place in the Rotation. — Properly speaking, 
alfalfa can scarcely be said to be a rotation plant, 
owing to the long period through which it continues 
to grow. That is one of the objections urged against 
growing it. But in certain areas favorable to its 
development, it may be grown for a term of years 
more or less limited, and then followed by certain 
other crops for an intervening term of years. As it 
is one of those plants which gather nitrogen from 
the air, it is so far a soil renovator. Alfalfa should, 
therefore, precede some crop which requires m.uch 
nitrogen to perfect its growth, as, for instance, corn 
or wheat. Deep-rooted plants may follow alfalfa 
with much propriety, since they can find ample food 
in the subsoils even, in which alfalfa roots are mold- 
ering, as, for instance, field roots, or rape. And the 
crop that precedes alfalfa should, if possible, be a 
cleaning one. 

The task of plowing a soil filled brimful of 
alfalfa roots of strong growth is by no means an 
easy one. But it ma}^ be facilitated by using a plow 
with a share somewhat serrated in its cutting edge. 
When the plow is drawn, these serrations will cut 



PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 93 

the roots and so make it possible to turn a straight 
furrow. 

Ereparing the Land. — The preparation of the 
soil that will be the most suitable for alfalfa will 
depend upon conditions such as relate to variations 
in soil and to the season for sowing the seed. Speak- 
ing' in a general way, the seed bed should be deep, 
moist, clean and of fine tilth. But with upland soils 
subjected to very dry conditions, stirring the soil to 
but a little depth, when preparing a seed bed, would 
be preferable. The firming of the seed bed is pecu- 
liarly applicable to the upland soils of the south- 
western states, but it will oftentimes be necessary to 
run a light harrow over the ground, after it has been 
firmed with a heavy roller, to prevent the wind from 
lifting the soil and in some instances to prevent the 
too rapid evaporation of soil moisture. When the 
seed is sown in the early spring, it is not possible at 
all times to secure a clean seed bed for the alfalfa, 
unless it is made to follow a well cultivated crop of 
the previous season. There may also be instances 
in which the labor would be wisely expended in sum- 
mer fallowing the land the previous year. When it 
is thus fallowed it is important that green crops be 
sown upon it at the same time and plowed under, 
that the soil may thus become abundantly supplied 
with vegetable matter. Such crops as autumn sown 
rye followed by a quick growing legume are well 
adapted to such an end. 

When the seed is sown late, there is then time 
to clean the surface soil through the successive 
harrowings that may be given. Because of the 
probable duration of the crop when established, and 



94 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

because of the recognized tendency in weeds and in 
some other grasses to increase and thus crowd out 
the alfalfa, it is very important that the crop be 
sown upon a clean seed bed. 

When alfalfa is sown with a nurse crop, the 
])reparation of the soil that is best suited to the nurse 
crop is likely also to prove suitable to the alfalfa. 
But in soils with much adhesion, it may be necessary 
to further pulverize them before they are in the best 
condition to receive the seed. 

In some instances, it will be better to plow the 
land in the autumn; in other instances, as where 
rainy winter climates prevail, plowing ought to be 
deferred until spring. Sometimes, as in soils that 
adhere overmuch, deep plowing is preferable and 
subsoiling may even be very advantageous ; at other 
times, as in tilling soils of the opposite extreme, 
shallow plowing would be preferable. Usually after 
crops that have been cultivated, it is only necessary 
to. finely pulverize the surface soil when preparing 
it for a seed bed. 

In laying down a piece of land to alfalfa, it is 
very important that at least the surface soil should 
have in it much available fertility as w^ell as that it 
should be in fine condition as to tilth, while it is 
probably true that no plant grown as food for live 
stock has greater power to gather the elements of 
support from the soil, the subsoil and the air than 
alfalfa, it is also true that in the early stages of 
growth alfalfa readily succumbs to vicissitudes from 
various sources, as excessive wet or drouth, heat or 
cold, overshading, or even undershading. . The 
behavior of the plant in after years depends in no 



PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 95 

little degree upon the nature of the start of the first 
season. If the plants are weak when they enter the 
winter, they are likely to perish before spring, and 
if the stand is thin at the first, it is likely to become 
more so, though in some rich soils it may be 
improved by adding more seed. 

Experience has taught that with this crop also 
farmyard manure is an excellent stimulant to growth. 
Gn the whole, when this fertilizer is used in the fresh 
form, it should be applied with the previous crop 
that it may readily give up to the young plants the 
unused content of fertility, and that many of the 
weed seeds in it may be given time to sprout before 
sowing the seed. When preparing the land for 
alfalfa it would be a mistake to top-dress the land 
with farmyard manure, even though much reduced 
by fermentation, as it will still contain weed seeds 
that will prove troublesome. 

The artificial fertilizers that ought to be applied 
must be determined by the needs of the land. They 
include nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash and lime. 
The need for applying these is not so great west of 
the eastern Mississippi watershed as east from that 
line. The gray ash soils of the farther west are 
usually abundantly supplied with the requisite food 
elements. These fertilizers may better be applied 
before the seed is sown, except the nitrogen, which, 
in some forms at least, is more helpful when sown on 
the young plants. Gypsum will benefit young alfalfa 
plants quite as much as it benefits young red clover. 
And it may be stated here, that unreduced farmyard 
manure applied to alkali lands is so far an excellent 
corrective of their alkalinity. 



96 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

Sozving the Seed. — The seed may be sown by 
hand, with the hand sower, or with the grain drill. 
Since alfalfa is a somewhat larger seed than red 
clover it may be covered rather more deeply, 
particularly on western soils. On some of these it 
may be sown as wheat, that is to say, by using the 
ordinary drill tubes used in sowing grain. 

On true alfalfa soils, the seed is seldom sown 
with a nurse crop, but in moist climates this method 
of obtaining a stand is quite feasible, and in some 
instances commendable. It is generally deemed 
preferable to sow the seed without a nurse crop, that 
the plants may have the full benefit of all the season 
to enable them to take possession of the soil to the 
fullest extent possible. Any of the small grains 
usually sown in the spring will answer for the nurse 
crop, but of these barley is the best. And there are 
instances in which winter wheat and winter rye may 
form the nurse crop. It may frequently be unwise 
to allow the nurse crop to mature, but the degree 
of the advancement which it should be allowed to 
make will depend upon conditions. If a nurse crop 
is grown it should never be at the expense of the 
alfalfa crop. And in a large majority of instances 
it will be wiser to dispense with the nurse crop 
altogether. 

Opinions differ much as to the quantity of seed 
that should be sown. Amounts named as suitable 
vary from twelve to thirty pounds per acre. Usually 
from fifteen to twenty pounds will be found suffi- 
cient, the last named quantity being rather more in 
favor on true alfalfa soils. Twelve pounds per acre 
may suffice in climates possessed of moist seasons. 



PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 9/ 

If the plants are sown too thinly they make coarse 
hay. Of the two extremes, excessive seed sowing 
is the least harmful since the tendency is constant for 
the plants to become thinner. 

The seed is usually sown about as early in the 
spring as the ground is ready to till. But it may be 
possible to sow the plants so early in the season in 
certain climates that the newly sprouted plants will 
succumb to a severe spring frost. But when they 
do, of course, the seed can again be sown. With 
alfalfa as with many other plants, better results will 
probably be obtained by sowing late enough to 
insure continuous growth. In mild latitudes it may 
be possible to sow when the late fall rains come, but 
the hazard to the young plants in the winter follow- 
ing is to be reckoned with. 

Cultivation. — Ordinarily no cultivation is given 
to alfalfa. But in some parts of the continent of 
Europe where labor is cheap, it is planted in rows, 
and hand hoed, to give the plants opportunity to 
develop favorably, but in this country such hand 
labor would be too costly. It is important that the 
roots be strong and vigorous ' when they enter the 
first winter, as that is usually the greatest period of 
hazard to the young plants. When grown on upland 
it is not common to use the crop for food the first 
season. But it may be necessary and highly advan- 
tageous to run the field mower over it once or oftener 
to prevent the ripening of the weeds that are pretty 
certain to grow in it. Close cutting would seem to 
be more beneficial to the young plants than cutting 
less closely, owing probably to the better adjustment 
of the relations as to moisture present in the soil and 
7 



98 ■ SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

the needs of the young plants. All the plants that 
fall before the mower are allowed to remain where 
they fall. When the crop is grov/n under irrigation, 
it is common to utilize one cutting the first year and 
sometimes two. But the young crops should not be 
pastured the first year, and on the upland it should 
not be pastured at all unless at certain seasons of the 
year. Pasturing in the winter in cold climates is 
particularly injurious, but in sections where the crop 
grows at its best, it may be pastured even in the 
winter, though as previously intimated, frequent and 
prolonged pasturing is thought to ultimately injure 
the stand of the plants, even under the most favor- 
able conditions. 

Feeding. — Alfalfa is ready for being harvested 
as soiling food as soon as the blossom buds are 
formed. It may be cut even earlier than that, more 
especially when fed to sheep and swine. The feed- 
ing should begin as soon as the food is ready, as in 
suitable weather it rushes very quickly to maturity. 
But the residue not needed as soiling food may with 
much propriety be made into hay. With sufficient 
moisture present, the crop at once begins to grow 
again, and in from four to six weeks after the cutting 
of the preceding growth the next crop is ready. 
Where irrigation is practiced, it is customary to flood 
the land as soon as the crop has been removed. 

As the alfalfa soon gets woody after it has 
reached the stage of full bloom, the residue not 
wanted for soiling food ought to be cut for hay even 
before it is in full bloom, else the quality of the hay 
will be reduced. It is apparent, therefore, that the 
feeding period from each crop or cutting is not a 




•»l»"i 



lOO SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

long one, not longer usually than three weeks. If, 
however, two plats or fields have been grown by 
cutting one at an early stage of growth, and then 
cutting the other, and again the first and likewise the 
second in continuity of alternation to the end of the 
season, the supply of alfalfa for soiling may under 
favorable conditions be made to cover the entire sea- 
son after the first growth is ready for being cut, 
which is usually in May or June, according to the 
locality. The same result can be accomplished with 
but one field by taking care to cut first one portion 
and then another, that the part .first cut may grow 
up again while the other part is furnishing soiling 
food. But in the absence of irrigation, it may not 
be possible to feed this food without interruption. 

The scythe, or the mowing machine is used in 
cutting the crop, but usually the latter. When cut 
it m.ay be drawn and fed the same as clover, that is 
to say, by strewing it on the pasture, by putting it 
into feed racks in a yard or paddock, or by feeding 
it in mangers. It should be wilted more or less 
w^hen fed to cattle and sheep, as it is sometimes liable 
to produce bloating when fed without stint in the 
green form. Enough may be cut at one time to last 
for a limited number of days, providing it is not 
allowed to lie broadcast in the swath where it fell 
beneath the mower. 

Although horses and swine are oftentimes pas- 
tured on alfalfa, some growers favor feeding it to 
them as soiling food unless where the conditions for 
growth are exceedingly favorable. The treading 
and close eating of horses are pretty certain to mate- 
rially shorten the duration of a stand of alfalfa 



PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. IQI 

When pigs are pastured on alfalfa without intermis- 
sion, it is not easy to regulate the pasturing so that 
the food will be kept tender and appetizing. But 
horses and pigs are pastured to a very considerable 
extent on alfalfa. Sheep are not very much pastured 
on alfalfa because of the danger from bloating. 
When fed as soiling food to sheep and swine, it 
ought to be cut while younger and more tender than 
would be necessary when it is fed to horses and 
cattle. 

The long period during which alfalfa may be 
fed makes it easily possible to feed it in conjunction 
with other soiling foods less nitrogenous in char- 
acter, as, for instance, corn and sorghum. The 
alfalfa may be fed one end of the day and 
green food at the opposite end of the same. The 
variety thus secured is advantageous. Alfalfa, even 
in the green form, may be advantageously used in 
fattening animals along with some carbonaceous 
food, as corn, barley or rye, but its highest use is 
found in growing animals and in producing milk. 
The owners of extensive alfalfa meadows would 
seem to be in a position to raise horses, cattle, sheep, 
swine and to produce dairy products more cheaply 
than these can be produced by any other system of 
arable farming. 



CHAPTER VL 

LEGUMINOUS PLANTS OTHER THAN CLOVER. 

The legumes are a numerous family, and yet 
the species that have special adaptation to soiling 
uses are not many. In addition to plants of the 
clover group, the chief of these are the field pea, the 
common vetch, the cowpea and the soy bean. The 
cowpea and the soy bean are in a sense the comple- 
ments of the field pea and the common vetch, when 
considered from the standpoint of distribution. 
These will be considered separately. 

THE FIELD PEA. 

Outside the clover family, the field pea (Pisiim 
sativum) is probably the most valuable legume 
that is now grown on this continent. The esti- 
mate thus put upon it is based on the high 
nitrogen content which it contains, upon the 
high relative palatability which it possesses and 
upon the various combinations in which it may 
be grown. Peas in combination with oats is 
a favorite soiling food with dairymen, wherever 
these can be successfully grown together. As a food 
plant its value is probably greater when grown alone, 
but owing to the taailing habit of growth which 
characterizes the pea, it has been found necessary to 
sow it along with some other plant when used in 

1 02 




es 

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& 
E 

3 ' 
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I04 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

soiling, that the crop may be harvested with greater 
ease, and that the vahie of the pea vines as stock food 
may not be impaired by their lying on the ground. 

Whether fed as a soiling food or in the cured 
form, peas are much relished by all kinds of domestic 
animals. In the green form, peas are specially suited 
to the needs of animals giving milk. In the cured 
form they are specifically a food for sheep, and the 
ripened grain is unsurpassed as a food for swine. 
The yield of the mixed crop in the green form Is 
seldom less than ten tons per acre, and probably 
seldom more than twenty tons. 

Distribution. — The common field pea may be 
grown in excellent form above the forty-fifth parallel 
of north latitude and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
except in some limited areas in the dry belt east of 
the Rocky mountains. As a mixed crop for soiling, 
and even in the unmixed form, it may also be grown 
many miles south of the line named, at least in certain 
areas. But below the forty-second parallel, the 
fruitage of the plants becomes more or less uncertain 
because of the high temperatures that prevail when 
the pea is in bloom. On high elevations the crop 
is not thus affected, hence in such situations peas 
will produce abundantly far southward. It is found 
at its best in temperatures that are equable, and in 
climates moist in character. 

Soil. — Loam soils strongly impregnated with 
clay are eminently adapted to growing peas. They 
may also be grown with much success on stiff clays. 
The returns from sandy loams will be favorably 
influenced or otherwise, according as these soils con- 
tain much or little clay. And the same is true of 



OTHER LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. IO5 

the humus soils of the prairie. The volcanic soils of 
the Rocky mountain valleys and the alluvial soils in 
many of the river bottoms in Montana, Washington 
and Oregon have special adaptation for the produc- 
tion of peas. Light, hungry sands are ill adapted to 
pea culture. While the vines will grow immensely 
in slough and marsh lands which rest on clay not 
far distant from the surface, they do not fruit well 
in these places, since the energies of the plant are so 
much directed to the growth of vines. W^hile it is 
not necessary that soils should be very rich in order 
to grow peas, they must be supplied with a fair 
amount of potash and phosphoric acid and enough 
nitrogen to give the crop a good start. The rest 
they will gather from the air. 

Place in the Rotation. — When peas are grown 
alone, the aim should be to have them precede a crop 
that requires much nitrogen to perfect its growth; 
for instance, a crop of wheat, since, as already inti- 
mated, peas are nitrogen gatherers. When grown 
in combination, almost any place in the rotation may 
be assigned to this crop. As it is commonly sown 
early in the season to provide green food, and is also 
harvested at a correspondingly early period, it may 
frequently be followed by a crop of rape or fall tur- 
nips, and it may with much propriety be followed 
by a crop of winter rye. 

Preparing the Soil. — This crop is more com- 
monly grown as soiling food along with oats, 
although it may also be grown in conjunction with 
other kinds of grain. Wheat is not considered as 
good as oats for being grown in combination with 
peas, for the reason, first, that it matures less slowly 



I06 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

than peas, and, second, that when fed-as soihng food, 
wheat is not rehshed by the stock quite so highly as 
oats. Nor is barley, since it ripens ahead of peas, 
and the beards are objectionable after they have 
reached a certain stage of ripening. Peas and oats 
mature more nearly at the same period, and as oats 
stool more than peas and wheat, or peas and barley, 
they produce a food less coarse in character. 
But whatsoever the combination fixed upon, the 
preparation of the land is virtually the same, nor 
does it usually differ from the preparation that has 
been found best suited to the growing of small 
grains. Usually the ground on wdiich the crop is to 
be sown early should be plowed in the fall. A deep 
seed bed is preferable, since peas require a deep 
covering. 

As previously intimated, the fertilizers most 
needed for this crop are potash and phosphoric acid. 
But in some instances, nitrogen has to be applied to 
start the crop vigorously. Farmyard manure is very 
suitable Avhen it can be obtained ; and on many soils 
land plaster will very much stimulate the growth of 
the peas when applied to the crop after the plants 
have grown some distance above the surface of the 
ground. It would be possible to enrich the ground 
too much to obtain the best results from this crop. 
When rankness in the growth is excessive, the green 
mass often falls down before the bloom or head 
appears, and when it does, its palatability is mate- 
rially lessened and the difficulty in harvesting is 
increased. 

Sozving. — Various methods of sowing the seed 
have been adopted, and of necessity to meet the needs 



OTHER LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. IO7 

of conditions not the same. Where the rainfall is 
normal and the soil is strongly impregnated with 
clay, the seed of the peas and oat may be mixed and 
deposited together by the grain drill. In such soils 
three inches would seem to be a sufficient covering. 
But in the black loams of the prairie, and especially 
in the absence of a plentiful supply of moisture, it 
would seem to be necessary to plant the peas more 
deeply. This necessity probably has given rise to the 
practice somewhat common in prairie areas of first 
sowing the peas on unplowed land and then burying 
them four inches, and even more than that, in the 
process of plowing the ground. The oats are then 
sown in some instances as soon as practicable, and 
in other instances several days later than the first 
sowing, and they are buried less deeply. The second 
method is usually preferable. When sod lands 
have been plowed in the autumn, or in the early 
spring, and when the furrow slices have been made 
narrow rather than wide, and laid at an angle of 
about forty-five degrees, the seed may be broadcasted 
by hand and simply harrowed in. It will fall 
between the crests of the furrow slices, and the har- 
row, when used properly, levels these and conse- 
quently buries the seed sufficiently. But peas should 
never be sown thus on level surfaces, as the shallow 
covering given to them by the harrow will be washed 
off in a considerable degree by the first shower 
that falls. 

The varieties of peas best adapted to soiling 
uses cannot be named, since different conditions call 
for different varieties. Usually those kinds that are 
fine rather than coarse in stem are to be preferred. 



I08 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

On soils with high adaptation for peas, the medium 
varieties are to be preferred and on soils opposite in 
character the larger varieties. 

Nor can the proportion of seed to be sown in 
the mixture be definitely stated. On clay loams, 
peas and oats are frecjuently sown in ec[ual quantities 
by measure, and with satisfactory results. On other 
soils peas should greatly preponderate in the mix- 
ture, and yet again the same is true of oats. From 
two to three bushels of the mixture are sown per 
acre, and in some instances even a larger quantity. 
The best method of sowing this crop and the propor- 
tions of seed that ought to be sown can only be deter- 
mined for each locality by actual test. 

It will usually be found that the best yields will 
be obtained by sowing peas and oats early rather 
than late, but to prolong the feeding period it is 
necessary sometimes to sow at successive intervals. 
The results will of course be influenced by the char- 
acter of the season. 

Some few varieties of peas would probably 
prove very suitable in providing soiling food, at 
least under certain conditions when sown alone. 
The crown pea and the grass pea are of this class. 
Their straw is more upright and branching than 
other varieties, and in consequence is less liable to 
lodge. These two varieties are at least worthy of 
being given a trial. 

Cnlfk'afiou. — When peas have been grown alone 
or in conjunction with some other kind of grain, 
and for the purpose of providing soiling food, har- 
rowing the crop once or twice is the only form of 
cultivation that can be given to it. A light harrow 



OTHER LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. IO9 

should be used. The more weedy the soil and the 
more rapidly the moisture escapes from it by surface 
evaporation, the greater will be the benefit from 
using the harrow. Harrowing has been found 
particularly helpful to this crop ^^'hen grown on 
certain of the soils of the prairie. If the harrow is 
used but once, it should be so used before the peas 
have reached the surface. When the peas have been 
sown and then covered with the plow, and the oats or 
other factor of the mixed crop is sown later, the grain 
thus sown may be very conveniently covered with 
the harrow while the first harrowing is being given 
to the pea crop. A second harrowing is seldom given, 
but when it is it should be deferred until the plants 
have become well rooted, and much care must be 
exercised in doing the work, or the harrow will bury 
too much of the grain. 

Feeding. — Peas grown alone may be fed as 
soiling food to swine from the appearance of the first 
bloom, but the highest feeding value is not obtained 
from the crop until a considerably later period. 
When fed in combination with oats or other grain 
to cows in milk, the feeding may begin when the peas 
are in full bloom or when the oats or other grain 
comes into head. The season of feeding may be 
continued until the crop is nearly ripe. 

The scythe or the mower should be used in cut- 
ting the crop, according as the quantity to be fed is 
little or much. And the method of feeding to be 
adopted is practically the same as in medium red 
clover. 

The crop is easily handled, more so than such 
soiling crops as corn or cowpeas, since it can be so 



no SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

convenient 'y lifted with a fork of suitable construc- 
tion. Also it is one of the safest soiling- foods to 
feed, since it never produces bloating when judi- 
ciously fed. When the crop cannot be all used in 
the g-reen form, the portion that remains should be 
cut and cured for winter feeding before the grain in 
the pod or the ear has passed the dough stage. The 
crop may be mowed and cared for after the manner 
of hay, or when it stands up sufficiently well it may 
be cut with the binder. When harvested with the 
binder, the sheaves should be made small and should 
not be very tightly bound. When the crop is very 
badly lodged, the pea harvester may be used to better 
advantage than any other implement in cutting them. 
The crop may be fed in a pasture, in a paddock, in 
racks in the shed or in mangers in the stable. 

THE COMMON VETCH. 

Several species of vetches have been grown in 
this country, but only one of these, viz., the common 
vetch (Vicia sativa) would seem to have special 
adaptation for being grown as soiling food. The 
sand vetch {Vicia viUosa) has been given a consider- 
able measure of praise during recent years for its 
ability to furnish green food for stock, but in the 
judgment of the author its highest use will be found 
when it is grown as a pasture plant rather than as a 
soiling food. The common vetch is frequently 
alluded to as though it embraced two varieties, viz., 
the w^inter and spring sorts, but these were originally 
probably one and the same kind grown at different 
seasons of the year. 



OTHER LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. Ill 

This plant has not yet been given the high place 
in our agriculture which it deserves. As a food 
plant it possesses excellent qualities, is less susceptible 
to injury from frost than the pea and is even more 
palatable and nutritious. It can be grown in various 
combinations, and is capable of making a second 
growth in some localities, though not in all, if cut 
while immature. And wdien the conditions are 
favorable it can be grown with much success as a 
pasture plant, as a soiling food, or as hay for winter 
feeding. The relatively high price of the seed has, 
probably more than anything else, hindered the 
growing of this crop for soiling food. This should 
not be so, as in states favorable to the growth of the 
vetch, abundant yields of seed may be obtained. 

The common vetch furnishes excellent food for 
all kinds of live stock kept upon the farm. When 
fed freely to cows in milk, the yield is increased. It 
has a peculiar adaptation for stimulating growth in 
lambs that are being given a forcing diet, and 
no kind of soiling food is more highly relished by 
swine. 

The product will of course vary m.uch, but 
w^hen grown alone the common vetch will run from 
about ten to fifteen tons per acre. When grown in 
combination with other plants, the return will be 
influenced by the nature of the combination. 

Distribution. — The common vetch can be grown 
with greater or less success in every state in the 
Union and in every province of Canada. It makes 
the most complete growth, however, in cool and 
humid climates. The provinces of Canada from 
Lake Huron eastward, and the north Atlantic states 



112 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

are well adapted to the growth of this plant. But 
the highest adaptation, viewed from the standpoint 
of climate, is found in western Washington and in 
Oregon. The growth that is produced in some sec- 
tions of the states is simply extraordinary. The 
summer climate of the central and southern states is 
too hot for the successful growth of vetches at that 
season of the year. But in several of these states, if 
not indeed all of them, the vetch may be grown with 
greater or less success when sown in the fall and fed 
in the spring. The dry climate of the semi-arid belt 
west of the Mississippi river is not well adapted to 
the growth of vetches. 

Soil. — The soil conditions favorable to the 
growth of the common vetch are much the same as 
those favorable to the growth of the common pea. 
Vetches luxuriate in clay loams and can be grown 
with a fair measure of success even on stiff clays. 
Infertile sandy lands are not favorable to the growth 
of the common vetch, but the sand vetch has much 
power to grow on these lands. The black humus soils 
of the prairie, where the clay content is low or 
entirely wanting, will not produce the best crops of 
this plant. The gray soils of the Rocky mountain 
valleys which produce rank peas will also produce 
rank vetches, and with or without irrigation 
according to conditions. 

Place in the Rotation. — Since vetches are soil 
renovators, they may be grown w4th advantage 
before a crop that requires much nitrogen to perfect 
its growth, as, for instance, wheat; and because of 
their ability to grow even on soils not very abun- 
dantly supplied with plant food. Vetches may be 



OTHER LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. II3 

grown almost anywhere in the rotation. They will 
make a good growth on overturned sod, but such 
land is usually wanted for the production of crops 
less able to appropriate plant food under adverse con- 
ditions. When sown in the autumn the winter vetch 
can with much propriety be sown after a grain crop, 
and there is ample time between the harvesting of the 
grain crop and the sowing of the vetches to prepare 
the seed bed in fine form. The vetches thus sown 
will be reaped early enough to admit of growing- 
some other crop that same season on the land that 
produced the vetches. Such a system of rotation is 
most helpful in cleaning land. When sown early in 
the spring the crop is also consumed early enough to 
admit of following it with some kind of catch crop 
that same season. Winter wheat and winter rye fit 
nicely into the rotation after spring sown vetches. 

Preparing the Soil. — Since vetches are sown 
sometimes in the spring and sometimes in the 
autumn, the precise methods of preparing the soil 
will vary considerably. On fall plowed land the 
only further preparation necessary is to stir the sur- 
face soil deeply enough to furnish a good seed bed. 
On spring plowed land the aim should be to secure a 
firm seed bed on the spongy humus soils of the 
prairie, and to secure a fine pulverization on clay 
soil that is cloddy. On land plowed in the summer 
in order to receive seed in the autumn, the aim should 
be to retain moisture in the land to the greatest ex- 
tent possible, by the use of the roller and harrow on 
it after it has been plowed. 

Fertilizers, especially those rich in nitrogen, are 
less needed by the vetch plant than by plants unabl(.^. 
8 



114 SOILING CROPS AXD THE SILO. 

to gather the same from the air. But lands fre- 
quently exist in which the supply of this element in 
the soil is so low that the vetch plants sown on them 
are unable to make a vigorous start unless some 
fertilizer is applied previous to the sowing of the 
vetches. If commercial fertilizers are added, pot- 
ash and phosphoric acid are especially fitted to meet 
the needs of the plants. 

Sozciiig. — The method of sowing depends to 
some extent on the nature of the combinations of 
seeds sewn. But the aim should be to sow the seed 
with the grain drill, since, owing to the globular 
form of the seed. — like I'cas — it is easily uncovered 
by rain when it lies near the surface of the soil. But 
it is not necessary to bury the seed so deeply as the 
pea is usually buried. From two to three inches 
would seem to be deep enough in any soil. 

Vetches may be sown in various combinations 
to produce soiling food. The following include 
some of the more important combinations when 
sown in the spring: — i, vetches and wheat, oats or 
barley: 2, vetches, wheat and peas: 3, vetches, oats 
and peas. In figure 13 the vetches do not show 
though present in quantities equal to the oats. And 
the following are some of the more important com- 
binations when the crop is sown in the autumn : — 
I. vetches and winter rye or winter wheat : 2, vetche- 
and winter oats or winter barley: 3, vetches and 
crimson clover. But there may also be some in- 
stances where it is preferable to sow the crop without 
admixture, as when two cuttings are sought from 
one sowing to provide very tender food for lambs 
or swine. ' 



Il6 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

The proportions of seed in the combination that 
will prove most satisfactory can only be ascertained 
by actual test in each locality. But the aim should 
be to make the vetches, to the greatest extent pos- 
sible, the dominant factor in the mixture, consistent, 
however, with the retention of upright growth 
in the crop. The other factor or factors of 
the combination are intended rather to support the 
vetches than to furnish food. When vetches are 
sown with crimson clover, the seed of the latter 
should be used sparingly lest it crowd the vetches. 

The quantity of seed that ought to be sown will 
vary with conditions such as relate to fertility, 
moisture and the varieties of plants used in the 
combination. But it will seldom, if ever, be advan- 
tageous to sow less than one bushel of vetch seed per 
acre, except when peas are used in the combination, 
and sometim.es even more than the amount of the 
vetch seed named should be sown. When the 
vetches are sown alone, from one to one and one-half 
bushels of seed are used. 

The best time for sowing the seed is largely 
dependent on the use that is to be made of the crop, 
and on the character of the climate. Vetches sow^n 
in the spring should as a rule be put into the ground 
quite early, but in moist climates it is admissible to 
sow them later and at intervals if necessary. When 
sown in the autumn the}^ should be given time to 
get well rooted before the more trying weather of 
winter arrives. 

Ciilfk'ation. — Harrowing is the only form of 
cultivation that ran be given to this crop, and when 
all the conditions are favorable to growth, it is not 



OTHER LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. II7 

necessary even to use the harrow. But there may be 
instances in which decided benefit will result from 
running the harrow over the crop when it is ready to 
push through the surface soil, and possibly also at a 
later period. But since the vetch is a somewhat 
tiny plant when it first begins to grow, much care 
must be taken in harrowing the crop, or the plants 
will be buried. 

Feeding. — In climates that are moist, the feed- 
ing of the vetch crop may begin at a comparatively 
early period, since it will make a good second growth, 
but in those opposite in character the wisdom of 
such a course would be more than questionable. 
Vetches cut before they come into bloom are highly 
relished by swine. More commonly, however, the 
cutting should not begin until the blossoms have ap- 
peared, and it may be continued until the crop has 
reached an early stage of maturity. In the later 
stages of its growth, it furnishes very rich food, and 
even in earlier stages it furnishes valuable food. 
The crop may be cut with the scythe or mower, and 
may be fed in the same manner as peas. It is 
more easily handled than various other grain crops 
since it is sufficiently adhesive to admit of being 
lifted easily, ancj yet it is not so adhesive as to make 
it difficult to lift a separate forkful. When fed only 
to swine where a limited number is kept, or to sheep 
that are being fitted for the show, it is customary, 
and the practice is a good one, to sow the vetches 
somewhere contiguous to the farm buildings for 
convenience in feeding. 

When it so happens that more of the crop is on 
hand than can be used in the green form, the surplus 



Il8 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

should be cut at an early stage of maturity and cured 
for winter feeding. When thus fed it makes in 
itself almost a perfectly balanced ration for some 
kinds of feeding. It is particularly excellent for 
cows in milk and for sheep. When thus fed, the 
crop may be conveniently harvested with the 
pea harvester which Avill do the work of cutting 
almost as quickly as though it were a hay crop. 
But when the crop is well supported by some 
other grain growing along with it, the binder 
may be made to harvest the same with manifest 
advantage. 

THE SOY BEAN. 

The soy bean (Glycine hispida) has only been 
tested in this country during recent years. Its 
growth has been confined to comparatively limited 
areas, hence but a relatively small number of the 
agriculturists of the country have any knowledge of 
the plant, based upon practical experience. The fol- 
lowing facts, however, have been fairly w^ell estab- 
lished in regard to the soy bean : 

I. It is not adapted to a climate in which the 
temperature is low in summer, or in which the season 
of growth is short. 2. It is able to gather the food 
of sustenance in relatively poor land, although it will 
of course give better returns from rich land. 3. It 
can withstand drouth and excessive wetness in the 
soil better than many other plants grown as food for 
live stock. 4. The flowers are not much liable to 
injury at the critical period, owing to peculiarities 
of structural development, hence they are more 
sure of fruiting than those of many other food plants 



OTHER LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. I I9 

and they also possess the power of self-pollina- 
tion. 5. It has much power to draw nitrogen 
from the air and to deposit the same in the soil for 
the benefit of succeeding crops. 6. It is one of the 
richest of foods grown for live stock. 7. It may be 
grown as pasture, as soiling food, as hay or as green 
manure; it may also be grown for the grain which 
it produces. 

The soy bean, very often designated the soja 
bean, is an annual plant. When all the conditions 
are favorable it will grow to the hight of four feet 
or more, but the average hight of the plants is from 
two to three feet. It is branching in its habit of 
growth, the stems are somewhat coarse and the 
leaves are large and fairly numerous. The pods are 
short and broad, and each pod contains from two to 
five seeds which vary much in color according to the 
variety. The yield of the beans varies of course 
with the natifre of the soil, the season and the method 
of cultivation adopted. Crops have been grown 
which produced as high as forty bushels per 
acre, but the average crop is probably less than half 
that amount. 

The soy bean makes an excellent food for cattle 
and swine, probably also for horses and sheep, 
although experience in feeding it to horses and sheep 
is as yet somewhat limited. The green food and the 
hay are excellent for cowi in milk ; the same is true 
of the seeds when ground and fed with some less 
concentrated food. Soy bean meal should probably 
be always thus fed. Except the peanut, there is 
perhaps no other vegetable product grown in this 
country which contains such high percentages of 



OTHER LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 121 

protein and fat in a form so highly digestible. It 
is considered superior in nutritive qualities to oil 
meal, and in some tests that have been made 
it has compared well with cottonseed meal. But 
the fact must not be overlooked that the hand- 
ling of the crop, when grown, is more exacting 
and laborious than the handling of some other 
soiling crops. 

The yield of the green crop per acre varies much 
with the conditions, but usually there is no difficulty 
in growing ten to twelve tons per acre on average 
land. But the value of this plant in producing food 
for live stock is measured less by the yield than by 
the richness of the food. 

Distribution. — Since the soy bean is a child of 
the sun, it cannot be grown successfully in far north- 
ern latitudes. The highest adaptation for this plant 
will, in nearly all instances, be found south of the 
fortieth parallel of north latitude, that is to say, 
south of the latitude of Columbus, O., and Spring- 
field, 111. The varieties heretofore introduced have 
not been grown with any marked success north of 
the line which marks the southern boundary of Min- 
nesota, or, in other words, north of the forty-third 
parallel. This means that in the meantime it has no 
important mission as a food crop for any of the 
provinces of Canada or for any of the states that 
border on Canada. But some of the varieties at 
present grown may become so acclimatized that the 
limit of successful growth may be pushed consider- 
ably further northward. The necessity for this, 
however, would not seem to be so vital as further 
south, because of the ease with which other green 



122 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

foods may be grown in the northern states that are 
more easily managed than the soy bean. 

In the intervening area between the parallels 
named the early maturing varieties only can be suc- 
cessfully grown, and of course with highest success 
toward its southerly limit; and in that part of the 
prescribed area which lies in the Mississippi basin 
the crops will be superior to those grown in other 
portions of the same, and chiefly for the reason that 
the summer temperatures in the said basin are rela- 
tively high. While the soy bean will grow well in 
the hot summer temperatures of the Rocky moun- 
tain valleys under irrigation it is not so much needed 
in them because of the luxuriance with which other 
legumes may be grown that are more easily handled. 
The climate of the Pacific slope west of the 
Cascade mountains is ill adapted to the growth of 
the scy bean. 

Soil. — The soy bean will thrive at least meas- 
urably well on almost any kind of soil, providing this 
soil has in it a liberal supply of potash, phos- 
phoric acid and lime. It will, however, thrive 
best on soils which may be termed medium in 
texture. Nearly all classes of soils found on the 
open prairie have high adaptation for the growth 
of this plant, and the same is true of all soils 
that will produce good crops of Indian corn. It may 
be successfully grown on land too low in fertility to 
produce clover or cowpeas. Instances are recorded 
in which plants have been grown in disintegrated 
trap rock and in coal ashes, and yet some of the light 
soils of the southern states may be so deficient in 
phosphoric acid and potash, and even nitrogen, as to 



OTHER LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 1 23 

make it worth while to apply those ingredients before 
planting the crop. Nor should it be planted on soils 
in which hardpan comes near the surface, since in 
such instances the roots which naturally feed deeply 
could not easily penetrate the soil. Swamp lands 
well drained, produce an abundant growth, especially 
of stems and leaves, hence these are specially adapted 
to growing soy beans for soiling food. 

Even peat soils, under certain conditions, may 
be made to produce paying crops, and owing to the 
excellent drouth-resisting properties of the plant, it 
may be grown on soils too deficient in moisture for 
the successful growth of the towpea. . But it is not 
wise to grow it on soils already rich in nitrogen. To 
do so would be a waste of that very important ele- 
ment of fertility. 

Place in the Rotation. — Since the soy bean must 
be grown m warm weather, where it is to be grown 
at all, its place in the rotation is all the more easily 
defined. Since the soy bean may be grown with 
highest success when given cultivation, it should gen- 
erally be .grown as a cleaning crop; since it is a 
legume and has much power to increase the nitrogen 
content in the soil, it should precede gram crops; 
and since it can make progress amid heat and during 
dry weather it may frequently be grown as a catch 
crop. It will, therefore, naturally follow such crops 
as have been grown in southern latitudes to provide 
autumn, winter and early spring pasture, as winter 
rye, winter oats and winter barley; and this plant 
may be made to follow grain crops that have been 
harvested at maturity, as, for instance, rye, winter 
wheat or winter oats ; and it may even, be made to 



124 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

follow Spring grain that has been matured, providing 
there is yet moisture enough in the soil to bring about 
successful germination in the seed. The ground 
does not as a rule of necessity require to be plowed 
when preparing it for the grain crop that is next to 
be sown, since the bean crop generally leaves it in 
a loose condition. 

Preparing the Soil. — Since the soy bean is fre- 
quently grown as a catch crop, the seed bed for it 
must in such instances be prepared with dispatch. 
This calls for a free use of the harrow and roller 
after the land has been plowed. But it may not be 
necessary in all instances to plow the land when pre- 
paring it for soy beans. The surface should be made 
smooth and fine for the reception of the seed. When 
the soy bean crop is the only plant to be sown on the 
ground for the season, a fine opportunity is furnished 
for freeing the land in a single season from the pres- 
ence of many kinds of noxious weeds. This may 
be done in part by plowing the land for the soy bean 
crop in the autumn or in the early spring and then 
running the harrow over the same as often as the 
weeds begin to grow until the beans are planted. 
The subsequent cultivation given to the crop will tend 
to complete the cleaning process so well begun 
before the planting of the same. It is not usual to 
apply any fertilizer when growing this crop, but as 
previously intimated, it may be necessary in some 
instances to apply potash, phosphoric acid, or lime, if 
not indeed all three of these ingredients. 

Sowing. — When designed for soiling uses, the 
soy bean should be planted in rows and usually with 
the corn planter, the bean planter or the grain drill. 



OTHER LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. I25 

The distance between the rows will vary according 
to the strength of the soil, the variety of the bean 
and the date of planting. The extremes of distance 
may be placed at about twenty- four and forty inches 
and the mean distance at thirty inches. When 
grown for seed, the distance should be more than 
when the crop is grown to provide green food or hay. 
The variety planted will depend on such conditions 
as soil, climate and the uses for which the crop is 
grown. As a rule, what are known as the dwarf 
varieties are preferred for grain production in the 
north and the medium varieties are preferred in the 
south. Of the former the Early Dwarf is a favorite 
and of the latter the Medium Early Green. The last 
named variety has proved satisfactory when grown 
as soiling food as far north as Amherst, Mass. The 
Medium Early Black is also in favor in many locali- 
ties. It is almost impossible, however, to give the 
names of varieties with precision at the present time, 
as the same variety is frequently spoken of under 
different names. The large varieties are adapted 
only to situations in which a long period of growth 
can be given to them. The medium varieties will 
frequently mature under normal conditions in from 
ninety to one hundred days, but oftentimes they 
require a longer season in which to complete their 
growth. When growing this crop, much attention 
should be given to the variety chosen. Many of the 
failures in attempting to introduce the crop have 
resulted from the planting of varieties not suited to 
the conditions of the locality. 

Considerably more seed is used in growing the 
:rop when it is to be fed in the green form than in 



126 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

growing- it for the grain. From a1)out sixteen to 
twenty-four quarts will suffice for the latter purpose, 
while not less than thirty-two quarts are usually 
sown to provide green food. Some growlers favor 
thick planting to encourage an upright and tall rather 
than a branching growth, because of the greater 
ease with w4iich plants of the former type can be 
harvested. 

The soy bean should never be planted until the 
arrival of warm settled weather, and the planting 
may proceed as long as there is a reasonable hope 
of sufficiently maturing the crop before the autumn 
frosts arrive. In Kansas, for instance, crops planted 
on wheat stubble in July have been matured. 

Cultivation. — Wherever the soil does not lift 
with the wind, the roller should both precede and 
follow the planting of so}^ beans, unless where mois- 
ture is abundantly present. The cultivation given 
should of course be generous and prompt, since the 
beans grow so quickly that this work cannot be very 
long continued. In some instances it is possible to 
use a harrow on the land between the time of plant- 
ing the seed and the appearing of the young plants 
above the surface. The instances are also frequent 
in which the harrow may be driven over the ground 
with much advantage to the plants after they have 
got four or five inches above the surface of the 
ground, but it should be driven along rather than 
across the rows to prevent the horses from treading 
down the plants. But when the harrow is so used, 
the teeth should be set wdth a backward slant. 

Feeding. — When the crop is grown for the seed 
it may be cut to much advantage with a self rake 




I a 



128 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

reaper. But when grown for soiling or for hay it 
is more commonly cut with the mower. When fed 
green, the cutting may begin as soon as the period 
of early bloom, and it may continue until the crop 
is sufficiently matured for making hay. When cut 
for hay, the seeds should be about half grown in the 
pods. If the cutting be deferred to a later period, 
many of the leaves will drop off and the stems will 
become woody. Any excess in the crop of green 
food should be cut for hay rather than allowed 
to ripen. 

Since the yield of seed from crops thus grown 
will not be abundant, the crop should not be allowed 
to wilt overmuch when it is fed green, lest there 
should be some loss from the leaves dropping off. 
The method of feeding is much the same as that 
followed in feeding peas. When soy beans are fed 
to swine, the season of feeding may be continued 
until the crop is matured. But it is more common 
to allow the swine to gather the seeds for themselves 
when the crop has reached an advanced stage of 
maturity. 

THE COWPEA. 

The cowpea (Dolichos Chinensis) has been 
grown for many years in the south, hence it has long 
since been carried past what may be termed the 
experimental stage of growth. It is fast coming to 
be regarded as an indispensable factor in any system 
of cultivation that can be adopted in the southern 
states and which is likely to prove eminently suc- 
cessful. Its great value to the farmers of the south 
arises from, i, its ability to grow on poor soils; 2, 



OTHER LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 1 29 

its power to grow under adverse conditions; 3, its 
great value as a pasture and a fodder plant for live 
stock ; 4, the magnificent service which it renders to 
the soil when plowed under as a green manure. 
There are but few places in the entire south where 
the land is tillable in which this plant may not be 
grown with more or less success. The proper use 
of the cowpea and of its complement, the soy bean, 
to the greatest extent possible, would revolutionize 
the agriculture of large areas in the south, where the 
soil is sandy and lacking in fertility. 

The cowpea furnishes excellent pasture for cat- 
tle, sheep and swine, but when pastured by cattle 
the waste of vines is greater than when fed as soiling 
food. It also furnishes good hay, when properly 
cured for horses, cattle and sheep. But it is not as 
easily handled as the common field pea in the north, 
nor is it so easily cured. The grain is also excellent 
for milk production and for growing swine. Its 
use for these purposes in the form of meal has not 
become general, owing first, to the considerable 
labor involved in handling the crop, because of the 
long and intertwining nature of the growth in many 
of the varieties grown, and, second, because of 
the incomplete machinery for harvesting the crop 
in the best manner possible. There would seem 
to be no valid reason why the pea harvester 
should not be generally used in harvesting the 
cowpea. 

It is scarcely possible to give figures that would 

represent the average yields of the crop per acre in 

the green form, owing to the many varieties that are 

grown and to the great difference in the habits of 

9 



OTHER LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. I3I 

growth in these. With the large varieties it is some- 
times possible to grow twenty tons per acre, but the 
average will be much less than that amount. 

Distribution. — The northerly limit of successful 
growth in the cowpea would seem to be the southerly 
limit of successful growth in the comxmon field pea. 
The line which forms this border-land of high devel- 
opment will run irregularly across the continent, but 
it is not far distant from the fortieth parallel. The 
cowpea has been grown in the northern areas of 
Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio and even 
in Connecticut, but in these localities the aim is rather 
to grow it as a soil renovator and to a less extent as 
a soiling food than as a grain crop. In the southern 
half of the states namedj Connecticut excepted, it is 
grown by many farmers, but the most favorable 
conditions for completest development in the large 
varieties is found further to the southward, as far 
south probably as the latitude of St. Louis in Mis- 
souri, that is to say, south of the thirty-eighth parallel 

In the warm valleys of the Rocky mountains 
the cowpea will doubtless grow vigorously under 
irrigation, but it is not likely to come into general 
favor in these areas, because of the presence of alfalfa 
in so great abundance, and yet in the more southerly 
of these valleys, it may come to be grown' extensively 
to provide a grain eminently suited to the finishing 
of pork reared upon alfalfa. When thus grown, 
s^vine could be made to harvest the crop where it 
grew. But in these valleys it is not at all probable 
that the cowpea will soon be produced as a soiling 
food. In Canada and m the states bordering on 
that country, any variety of the cowpea that has been 



132 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

introduced has not been ^rown with highest success, 
and the same is true of the western slope of Oregon. 
But recent experiments conducted by the author at 
the Minnesota experiment station have been decid- 
edly encouraging. They were made with such 
varieties as the Early Black and the Red Ripper. 

Soils. — Soils that are suitable for growing soy 
beans are also suitable in nearly all instances for 
growing cowpeas. (see Page 122). Loam soils 
and more especially clay loams, will produce the 
largest crops. Fairly good crops may be grown 
on soils too low in fertility to produce good crops 
of grain. 

Flace in the Rotation. — As with other legumes, 
the aim should be to grow the cowpea so that it will 
prove a renovating crop to the soil. It should, 
therefore, come as a rule between two grain crops. 
But it may also be grown as a catch crop, where 
a crop previously grow^n has failed; or it may be 
grown as an intermediate crop after a crop has been 
harvested and before another autumn or winter crop 
has been sown. The cowpea can be grown with 
much satisfaction on land from which early vege- 
tables have been removed and also after a crop of 
such fruits as strawberries. It is also grown on 
soils that have become too unproductive for success- 
ful cropping with grain. When thus grown it is 
usually plowed under to renovate the soil, but even 
though the crop be used for soiling purposes or for 
hay, or even though it be matured for its grain 
product it will still leave the land in a much better 
condition as to fertility than before the crop was 
grown on it. 



OTHER LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 1 33 

Although cowpeas will grow luxuriantly on 
overturned sod lands, it will usually be a mistake to 
grow them on these, as the vegetable matter which 
they contain may be turned to excellent account in 
growing grain crops. But it may be wise in some 
instances to grow cowpeas after crimson clover, in 
the hope of further enriching the land for the next 
crop. The cowpea is also frequently sown among 
the cotton and corn plants while they are yet imma- 
ture. In latitudes far south, one crop of cowpeas 
may be grown for soiling uses if cut early and 
a second crop from the same plants for being 
plowed under. 

Preparing the Soil. — In preparing the soil for 
the cowpea the aim should be to secure a fine and a 
moist seed bed. The roller and harrow, if judiciously 
used, may be made greatly helpful in securing both, 
and more especially after the arrival of the dry sea- 
son. When sown after garden crops, it may not be 
necessary to plow the land, but simply to disk and 
harrow^ it. 

It is seldom necessary to apply nitrogen to the 
soil in which this crop is grown, but in some instances 
it is necessary. Since the cowpea takes considerable 
quantities of potash and phosphoric acid out of the 
soil and since it does not restore these when the 
crop is removed from the soil on which it grew, 
except in so far as it brings them up from the sub- 
soil, the fertilizers applied should contain these ele- 
ments in liberal degree. It will be in order, there- 
fore, to apply such fertilizers as ground bone, bone 
ash, fish guano and superphosphate when fertilizers 
are needed. Farmyard manure will usually give 



134 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

excellent results, but it can seldom be spared for the 
crop of cowpeas. 

Solving. — Cowpeas are commonly sown with 
the grain drill. If sown broadcast and covered with 
the harrow, and rain should fall soon after the crop 
has been sown, many of the peas will lie upon the 
surface and will fail to sprout. When sown for 
pasture, all the drill tubes are used in sowing the 
seed, but when the land is measurably clean and the 
other conditions are favorable, it may be advanta- 
geous to sow only with alternate tubes. The same 
mode of sowing is sometimes adopted when the crop 
is sown for soiling uses or for the production of hay 
or grain. But when ground is to be cleaned, or when 
moisture is not abundant, the crop ought to be drilled 
in rows far enough apart to admit of cultivation. 
With the large varieties these rows may in some 
instances be made as distant from one another as 
thirty inches, and even thus far distant, the vines 
will in time completely cover the ground. But the 
distance between the rows must be measurably deter- 
mined by the variety of the peas and convenience in 
cultivating them. 

In growing this crop for soiling food, it will 
oftentimes prove advantageous to sow the seed of 
some other forage plant along with them, as, for 
instance, millet, sorghum, or Kaffir corn. These 
plants help to sustain the peas and consequently to 
improve the quality of the vines and to increase the 
quantity of the grain. Kaffir corn is very suitable 
for being grown thus, owing to the stiff growth of 
stem which it sends upward and to its power to 
grow in dry weather. About ten pounds of seed 



OTHER LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 1 35 

will usually be sufficient to mix with one bushel 
of the peas. 

The quantity of peas that should be sown will 
depend chiefly on the objects sought in sowing. But 
more seed will be required of the large varieties and 
by soils low in fertility. From one to one and one- 
half bushels are usually sown when the crop is to be 
pastured or plowed under. In a majority of 
instances, one bushel of seed per acre will suffice to 
grow soiling food or hay. When cultivation is to 
be given between the rows, the quantity of seed 
required will be proportionately reduced. 

When the crop is to be plowed under, the large 
and late maturing varieties ought usually to be sown 
in the southern but not in the northern states. The 
Wonderful, sometimes called Unknown, is one of 
the best of these. But when soiling food, hay or 
grain is sought, the kinds known as ''bunch" varie- 
ties — that is to say, branched and bush-like rather 
than vine-like — should usually be sown. ' They are 
more productive of grain than the former and are 
more easily harvested. The best of these, especially 
for northerly latitudes, are the Whippoorwill, the 
Early Black, the Red Ripper and the Black Eye. 
The Clay variety is in favor farther south. But 
there is yet some confusion in the various names 
applied to the cowpea. 

If cowpeas are sown before the weather and 
soil are warm, the seed will rot in the ground, or 
the plants will start so feebly that they will not grow 
subsequently into a vigorous crop. After the corn 
has been planted it will be sufficiently early to plant 
cowpeas. In latitudes far south they can be sown 



136 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

even months later, but not in the north. The bunch 
varieties will often mature in ninety to one hundred 
and twenty days from the time of planting. 

Cultivation. — W^hether cowpeas are sown broad- 
cast by hand, by the grain drill with all the tubes in 
use or in rows far enough apart to admit of subse- 
quent cultivation, the harrow may in many instances 
be used with advantage before the plants push up 
through the surface of the soil. A light harrow may 
also be used when the plants are four or five inches 
above the surface, and more especially wdien the 
peas are planted in rows so that subsequent cultiva- 
tion can be given to them, as then the horses may 
be driven along the rows when drawing the harrow 
so as not' to tread down the peas. 

When subsequent cultivation is given between 
the rows, it must be done with promptness, as the 
peas, owing to the vine-like character of their growth 
will soon lie along upon the land and so preclude 
further culti^-ation. When strong weeds of a nox- 
ious character infest the line of the rows they ought 
to be removed if they are likely to mature their seeds 
before the peas are harvested. Due attention should 
be given to this particular, whatsover the kind of 
crop that is being grown. 

Feeding. — The feeding of cowpeas may begin 
as soon as the first bloom appears. When cut thus 
early the crop will grow up again, though not under 
all conditions, and may be cut a second time if the 
growth will justify using it thus. A second advan- 
tage from early cutting is found in the greater ease 
with which the green food mav be handled when it 
is being fed, since the intertwining of the vines is 




•2 ^ 

o c 



138 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

not SO pronounced as at a later period. It should be 
remembered that at the period of early bloom the 
plants have not nearly reached that stage when they 
possess a maximum of nutrition. The feeding may 
be continued until the crop is nearly mature. Any 
residue not wanted for green food may be cut and 
cured for hay. When the major portion of the pods 
contain peas more than half grown, the crop is ready 
for being cut for hay. It may also be harvested for 
the grain as soon as one-half, or more than that, of 
the pods are fully ripe. The ripening of the pods, 
as with the common field pea, is more or less uneven. 

The cutting on a large scale is commonly done 
with a field mower. But when the crop is not in 
any way supported by another crop sown along with 
it, the mower very frequently leaves more or less 
of the peas uncut. The pea harvester will do the 
Avork of cutting much more cleanly and economically. 
Because of the difficulty of handling the crop when 
feeding it green, there is a disposition on the part of 
many to allow the stock to do the harvesting. The 
waste resulting is not all loss, since the soil is 
enriched more or less when the waste is buried 
with the plow. 

As in feeding other green foods, this crop may 
be fed on a pasture, in a paddock, in sheds or stables, 
in fact, wherever it is most convenient. 



CHAPTER VII. 

PLANTS OF THE BRASSICA GENUS. 

But two plants of this genus have heretofore 
been grown to any very considerable extent on this 
continent to provide soiling food or pasture for live 
stock. These are rape and cabbage. It is possible, 
nevertheless, that other plants of the same genus may 
yet be introduced that will prove quite helpful in pro- 
viding green food for the same. Some of these, as 
kale for instance, have been thus utilized in Europe, 
and there would seem to be no good reasons why 
they should not be so used in some areas of this coun- 
try, but until more is known as to their behavior 
under American conditions, they could only be dis- 
cussed in a speculative way. Rape and cabbage, 
therefore, will only be considered in this chapter. 

RAPE. 

There are several varieties of rape {Br as sic a 
napus,) but only one of these, viz., the Dwarf Essex, 
has been found possessed of sufficient value to give it 
the place of distinct precedence among all the varie- 
ties tried under American conditions. All varieties 
of rape are annual, that is to say, they complete the 
mission of life within twelve months from the date 
of sowing. But there may be instances, as when 
certain varieties are sown earb^ one season, where 

139 



I40 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

they will not mature their seeds until a later period 
the following season. The varieties which are 
chiefly grown for seed only, and which are used 
principally in making oil, usually mature the seed 
within sixty to one hundred and twenty days 
from the date of sowing, but those which 
are grown rather for pasture or for soil- 
ing uses, will not mature seed the same season 
they are sown. The former are possessed of but 
little value as food plants. 

The Dwarf Essex rape bears a close resemblance 
to the rutal^aga in the first weeks of its growth. So 
close is the resemblance at this time that it probably 
would puzzle an expert to tell the two plants apart. 
As time goes on, however, the growth of the rape 
is more upright, and it becomes more stalky and tall. 
Ordinarily it grows to the hight of eighteen to 
twenty- four inches, but it may be so stimulated by 
fertilizers as to make it reach nearly twice that 
hight. The root is strong, the branches of the same 
being numerous and some of them go a considerable 
distance downward as well as laterally in search of 
food. 

Dwarf Essex rape furnishes most excellent 
soiling food for horses, cattle, sheep and swine. Its 
feeding ^^alue has been stated by high authority to be 
fully twice that of clover, although chemical analysis 
does not give to it so high a value. As soon as ani- 
mals become accustomed to it, they grow^ exceedingly 
fond of it. Its power to produce milk when fed to 
milk-giving animals is very high, and its power to 
produce fat is, in a sense, remarkable. When it is fed 
to cows in milk, some caution must be exercised as to 




ChO 



Fi2 18. Dwarf Essex Rape Plant 

Minnesota University Expenment .arm. 



142 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

the manner in which it is fed, or the milk will be 
tainted more or less. Many dairymen, who send their 
milk regularly to a cheese factory, feed it to their 
cows once or twice a day after the cows have been 
milked. These dairymen state that no complaint has 
been made as to the quality of the milk. But some 
dairy authorities claim it should not be fed to cows 
giving milk at all, as the danger of taint is imminent. 
The truth will probably be found, in this as in so 
many other instances, to occupy middle ground. If 
the rape is fed just after the cows have been milked 
and in moderation, while the milk flow will be well 
sustained, there will probably be no perceptible taint 
in the milk. But if fed in excess, while the milk 
flow will be further increased, the milk will carry in 
it more or less of the odor of the green rape. 

The yield of the mature crop is proportionate 
to the favorable nature of the climatic conditions, 
the richness of the land, and the nature and extent of 
the cultivation given to the plants. Ten tons an acre 
is a very moderate yield. Twenty tons an acre are 
frequently obtained, and there are instances in whicli 
the yield has been increased to thirty tons per acre. 
When the exceedingly rich character of the food is 
kept in mind and when this fact is coupled with the 
large yields that can be obtained, the conclusion is 
legitimate, viz., that but few crops can be grown that 
will yield a greater food value per acre. 

Distribution. — It is questionable if there is any 
state in the Union or any province in Canada in 
some part of which this food cannot be successfully 
grown at some season of the year. It may Vv^itli no 
little propriety be termed a cool weather plant, hence 



PLANTS OF THE BRASSICA GENUS. 1 43 

the best yields are obtained north of the fortieth 
parallel of north latitude. All the states of the Union 
bordering on Canada, and likewise all the provinces 
of Canada bordering on the United States, have high 
adaptation, though not equally high, for the growth 
of rape. In the states further south it ought to 
be grown in the early part of the season, before the 
weather becomes dry and hot, or in the autumn after 
rain has begun to fall. In mild winter latitudes 
this plant should be made to provide soiling food 
through all or nearly all the winter. 

Rape also grows in fine form in the higher Rocky 
mountain valleys when it is irrigated, and sometimes 
in the absence of irrigaton, but the great abundance 
of the alfalfa crops in these makes the growth of 
rape less essential than it would otherwise be. The 
highest adaptation for this plant will probably be 
found on the Pacific coast from southern Oregon to 
Alaska. The humidity of the climate there and the 
mild character of the season makes it possible to 
grow enormous crops of rape. 

Soil. — Rape will grow freely in any soil that 
will produce a good crop of turnips, that is to say, 
it will make a vigorous growth in deep, moist loam 
soils, with a considerable mixture of sand in them. 
It will also grow with even greater vigor in some 
classes of soils not well adapted to rutabagas, as for 
instance, the black humus soils found in sloughs, 
and the muck soils of marshes, that have been 
drained. It would probably be correct to say that in 
these, rape finds its highest adaptation. It grows 
luxuriantly in nearly all the varieties of soil found in 
the prairies of the west, also in the sandy soils of the 



144 SOILING CROPS AND T]IE SILO. 

Rocky mountain valleys when supplied with mois- 
ture. It does not usually make a good growth in 
unyielding clays, and light infertile sands have still 
less adaptation to the growth of rape than stiff clays. 
It is almost useless to sow rape on a poor soil. On 
the other hand, the yield of the crop is likely to be 
proportionate to the richness of the land when the 
other conditions that relate to growth are favorable. 

Place in the Rotation. — The place given to rape 
in the rotation will in no small degree be dependent 
on the object for which it is grown. When grown 
to provide pasture one can scarcely imagine a rota- 
tion in which it may not with propriety be given a 
place. It is probably without a rival in its adapta- 
tion for being sown as a catch crop. But it is rather 
as a soiling crop than as a pasture crop that its place, 
in the rotation, is now to be considered. Whenever 
the crop is cultivated it ought to be made a cleaning 
crop, and, therefore, may be sown with no little 
propriety on land that is foul. In all, or nearly all, 
such instances it ought to be followed by a grain 
crop on which grass seeds also are sown. But when 
sown broadcast, and on many of the rich soils of the 
west, it may be thus grown with perfect propriety. 
It should only be sown on land that is measurably 
clean. This crop will grow nicely on overturned 
sod, old or new, timothy, clover, blue grass, or indeed 
any other kind of grass, since it is a ravenous feeder 
on decaying vegetable matter in the soil. 

Rape may be made the sole crop grown on the 
land for the season, or even for soiling purposes it 
may be made to follow some other crop, as rye 
pastured or barley harvested, or clover from which 



PLANTS OF THE BRASSICA GENUS. I45 

one cutting has been removed. When sown thus 
late, in very many instances cultivation should be 
given to the plants to stimulate growth. When 
sown after any of these crops, the results will largely 
depend on the character of the weather that follows. 
There may be seasons when the attempt to grow rape 
in this way will not be successful. 

Preparing the Soil. — In preparing the land for 
rape the aim should be to secure a fine, firm and 
moist seed bed, with as much cleanness as can be 
attained under the circumstances. When rape is the 
sole crop grown on the land for the season, usually 
the above conditions can be attained, unless the crop 
is sown very early in the season. More commonly 
they can best be attained by plowing the land in the 
autumn. 

The exceptions are climates with rainy winters. 
It being more common to sow rape to provide soiling 
food for late summer and autumn rather than for 
early summer feeding, a sufficient interval tran- 
spires between the opening of spring and the sowing 
of the crop to sprout many of the weed seeds lying 
near the. surf ace of the soil, and in time to destroy 
them by the occasional use of the harrow. But when 
the crop is broadcasted early in the season, as ig 
often done, the aim should be to sow it on clean 
land. When rape follows another crop harvested 
the same season, the interval for preparing the land 
is too short to give opportunity to clean the same. 
Within a few hours of the plowing of the land it 
should be impacted with the roller, or with the roller 
and harrow, to keep in the moisture. This should 
never be omitted, unless when the soil is abundantly 
10 



146 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

moist. And when the rape crop is planted in drills 
on such land with enough distance between them to 
admit cultivation, the said cultivation, when given, is 
further very helpful to the retention of moisture, as 
well as to the more vigorous growth of the plants. 
It is, also, peculiarly helpful in such a season in 
cleaning the land. Rape should not be sown in sum- 
mer weather on cloddy land as the seed will not 
germinate under such conditions. 

When rape is grown for soiling food, the aim 
should be to secure all the growth possible. Hence 
it should be sown on land naturally rich, or made so 
by applying fertilizers. Rape has special adaptation 
for being grown on lands enriched with heavy appli- 
cations of farmyard manure. In fact, the luxuriance 
in the growth of the plants is usually proportional to 
the degree, to w^hich the soil has been enriched. This 
plant would almost seem capable of growing in a 
manure heap. And because of its great power to 
appropriate food, manure applied in the fresh form 
would seem to answer the end sought about as well 
as when it is applied in the reduced form. But to this 
there are some exceptions. Manure, fresh and con- 
taining much litter, should not be applied in great 
bulk, except in rainy climates, lest it hinder to so 
great an extent the impaction of the soil as to allow 
the too rapid escape of moisture. Slough and 
swamp soils are oftentimes so rich that an application 
of a fertilizer on these would be thrown aAvay. 

Commercial fertilizers are of course helpful to 
this plant when farmyard manure cannot be obtained, 
and also when it can be obtained, but not in 
sufficient quantities. A light application of farmyard 



PLANTS OF THE BRASSICA GENUS. I47 

manure in conjunction with a light apphcation 
'of artificial fertilizers is probably superior to a heavy 
application of either alone. On lands which require 
such treatment superphosphate is oftentimes drilled 
in with the seed, but not in too close proximity to it. 
Nitrogenous fertilizers, on which rape feeds rav- 
enously, are usually applied on or near the surface, 
and just at the time of sowing the seed or later. 
But in moist weather only should nitrogenous ferti- 
lizers be applied on the surface. 

Solving. — Rape seed is sown by one of two 
methods, that is to say, it is broadcasted, or sown in 
rows far enough apart to admit cultivation between 
them. The second method is preferable when land 
is possessed of only moderate fertility, when it is 
foul with weeds, and when the period of growth is 
short. The cultivation stimulates growth some- 
times in a remarkable degree, and cleans the land. 
The first m.ethod will answer very well, however, 
when the land is reasonably clean and rich, and more 
especially in moist climates. Where the seed is 
sown in rows, these are placed variously from 
twenty to thirty-six inches apart, according as there 
is present a prospect of 'an average or more than an 
average crop. The stronger the growth the wider 
apart do the plants require to be. 

In some instances the drills are raised. In 
other instances they are made on the level. 
When raised they are commonly made witli 
a double mold board plow with a marker on it, 
to mark the line of the next plow furrow. The 
raised drills render cultivation somewhat easier, 
more especially when the plants are young. But 



148 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

where moisture is less than normal, the 
germination of the seed will be much more certain if 
sown on the level. The seed is usually sown in 
raised drills by the ordinary turnip drill, drawn by 
one horse. Two rows are thus sown at once. But 
the hand drill can be used in the absence of a horse 
drill. When sown on the level the land may be 
marked out and the seed sown with the hand drill, or 
it may be deposited with certain of the grain drills, 
when driven by a driver sufficiently skilled to make 
rows straight and evenly distant; varying widths 
between the rows and crooked rows greatly lessen 
the effectiveness of the subsequent cultivation. The 
most perfect machine for doing this work has prob- 
ably not yet been invented. The seed should be 
buried from less than one inch to two or even more 
in depth, according to the character of the soil and 
climate. When sow^n broadcast the seed may be 
scattered by hand, or sown with a hand grass seed 
sower. In either instance it is covered with the 
harrow, whether the seed is sown in drills or by 
hand, unless when the ground is quite moist, it 
should be rolled before and also immediately after 
sowing the seed, to hinder evaporation near the 
surface. Rolling the land thus in dry weather is 
greatly important, but there may be instances when 
a light harrow should follow the last rolling given 
the land. 

The quantity of seed to be sown will depend 
upon varying conditions, usually from one to two 
pounds per acre will suffice when the crop is grown 
in drills. When broadcasted the quantity will vary 
from three to five pounds per acre. The first men- 



PLANTS OF THE BRASSICA GENUS. I49 

tioned quantity will suffice when the soil is rich and 
clean, but when these conditions are not present the 
last named quantity may be preferable, to admit of 
harrowing the crop to some extent after the plants 
have made a good start. 

The time at which this crop may be sown varies 
exceedingly. In all climates it may be sown as early 
in the spring as grain crops, and in moist climates 
it may be sown as late as the end of summer. The 
crop usually requires from eight to ten weeks to 
complete its growth, sometimes however, a shorter 
period will suffice and again a longer period is 
necessary. Keeping in mind this thought one can 
decide when the crop should be sown. The early 
sown crops may be turned to excellent account in 
providing pasture or soiling food for swine, when 
clover does not grow readily. In mild climates it 
may be sown in the autumn. To provide soiling 
food when most needed, the seed is usually sown in 
May or June. But by varying the dates of sowing, 
this one plant may be made to furnish soiling food 
almost without interruption from the close of spring 
to the end of autumn. In the dry, hot summer 
months it is sometimes impossible to get a stand of 
plants. But even though the seed should lie in the 
ground without germinating for weeks, it will start 
tip vigorously as soon as moisture reaches it. 

Cultivation. — When the crop is broadcasted the 
only cultivation possible is to harrow it after the 
plants have obtained a fine hold on the soil. The 
harrowing should be done with much care. It will 
destroy some of the plants, but when the seed has 
been sown thickly enough, this will be no real 



150 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

detriment to the crop. A light harrow should be 
used, and the harrowing must not be deferred until 
the young weeds get a firm hold upon the soil. 

When the crop is sown in rows, the cultivation 
should begin as soon as the young plants can be dis- 
tinctly traced along the line of the row. It should 
be shallow and as frequent as once a w^eek or once 
in two weeks, until the tops of the plants have so 
reached out as to preclude further cultivation. The 
harrow may also be used with advantage in some 
instances on a rape crop sown in drills and on the 
level. When so used it should be drawn across the 
rows and prior to the cultivation ordinarily given. 
The effect will be to take out myriads of weeds along 
the line of the row that would otherwise be undis- 
turbed. The plants will be somewhat thinned, but 
this should not result in the injury of the crop. It 
is not usual to hand hoe rape, not even along the line 
of the row or to thin it, but if so treated the plants 
will grow all the stronger. Whether the labor 
would give an adequate return will depend upon 
conditions. When the cleaning of the land is one of 
the chief objects sought in growing rape some hand 
hoeing should be found profitable. 

Feeding. — The cutting and feeding of rape 
plants may be commenced as soon as they have made 
sufficient growth to justify such a course. More 
especially is this true of rape that is to be fed to 
swine in the absence of other green food. It may 
be cut and fed thus when not more than one foot 
high. If not cut too near the ground, it will grow 
up a second and even a third time. If mowed 
closely, however, the growth will be much weakened. 



^^^fcj^'f^^ 'f^Ms^, 




152 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

More commonly, however, rape is virtually allowed 
to reach its growth before the feeding is begun, and 
it is questionable if more or even as much food can 
be obtained by cutting this crop once or twice when 
immature, as when it is allowed to practically mature 
before the feeding begins. By maturity is meant, 
in the present instance, a stage when further growtli 
ceases. This point once reached, there will likely 
be greater or less loss in hot weather before the crop 
can be fed, as the lower leaves, especially, will be- 
come yellow and crisp, and in some instances, the 
plants w^ill be attacked by the white aphis. When 
indications of such attack are present, the crop should 
be fed with all haste, otherwise it may soon become 
valueless. 

To avoid such risk, in hot weather it may be 
well to commence feeding the plants before they 
have completed their maturity. But in cool moist 
weather a large majority of the plants will so retain 
their greenness, that the feeding of the crop may be 
made to cover two months, at least without much loss 
in food value. It may be well to mention here, that 
any unused residue of the crop in the late autumn 
may be cut before severe frosts arrive, thrown into 
heaps and fed from these, even after the snow has 
fallen to a considerable depth. But where the cold 
of winter is usually intense, this could not be done 
with profit. The plants like those of sorghum are 
slow indeed to spoil when thus handled. 

The crop may be cut with scythe or mower 
according to the amount wanted, and if put into 
heaps soon after it is cut, m the field, the feed yard or 
the sheds, it will retain its palatability for several 



PLANTS OF THE BRASSICA GENUS. I53 

days. If the crop is cut with the mower, better work 
can usually be done when it has been sown broadcast, 
as then none of the stems lie so near the ground 
as to escape being cut. When the drills have been 
raised it is not easy to cut the crop with the mower. 

Rape may be fed as other green food, that is 
to say, on a pasture, or in a paddock, feed yard, shed 
or sty. But care should be taken not to feed too 
large a quantity at first; not to feed when wet, 
and not to feed to hungry animals all they will take, 
lest bloating should be produced, which, if not 
speedily relieved, will almost certainly lead to the 
death of the animal. There is some danger also 
that scouring will be produced when green rape is 
fed in large quantities. The scouring is not nearly 
so likely to manifest itself when the stock is also 
being pastured on grass more or less dry, or where 
there is being fed at the same time a considerable 
quantity of hay. And it is not a little surprising 
how much dry food, stock will consume when being 
freely fed on green rape. Nature seems to furnish 
a craving for food that aids in correcting the ten- 
dency to an unduly lax condition of the bowels which 
may have been induced by feeding rape. And this 
will be found true also when other kinds of green 
food are being fed. So certainly does this craving 
manifest itself that it is questionable if it would not 
pay at all times to feed some dry food when animals 
are being fed an abundance of juicy green food. 

It may not be generally known that this plant 
can be fed green with much profit to young colts 
more especially after they have been weaned. It is 
equally good for calves under like conditions. If 



154 ■ SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

given an abundance of green rape calves or colts will 
grow very quickly and will also improve in flesh. It 
makes a grand food for sheep being fitted for 
the fairs, for weaned lambs that are wanted in good 
form for early selling, and for lambs that must needs 
be confined to avoid infection from parasites on cer- 
tain pastures. When fed as soiling food, the feeding 
can be so regulated that the element from bloating 
will be completely eliminated. Rape is also possessed 
of peculiar value when fed as soiling food to swine. 
When so fed a large saving is effected in grain food, 
development is more continuous, and the vigor of the 
animals is better sustained. 

The rape plant is oftener pastured than cut and 
fed as soiling food, frequently it will be more advan- 
tageous to use it in the latter form. There is really 
no limit to the extent to which this plant may be 
used other than that which is fixed by the desires of 
the owner. 

CABBAGE. 

Cabbage (Brassica olcracea) is probably seldom 
grown for the express purpose of providing suste- 
nance for live stock. In nearly all instances crops of 
this plant are grown to provide food for the human 
family. Yet in certain areas it may be grown with 
much advantage to furnish soiling food for various 
classes of live stock. Because of the great power 
which the mature plants have to withstand frost, 
the}^ will furnish green food at a season of the year 
when it can seldom be obtained from any other 
source outside of the silo. By exercising some care 
and forethought in storing cabbage, as described 



PLANTS OF THE BRASSICA GENUS. 1 55 

under the head of feeding, it may be used as green 
food for several weeks after the ground has frozen. 

But even though the crop has been grown chiefly 
as human food, w^hen the areas thus planted are 
large, the residue of the crop after the heads have 
been taken, is possessed of a value for feeding uses 
that will far more than repay the labor of feeding 
it to live stock. This residue, though it varies 
greatly in relative value, is frequently worth fully 
fifty per cent of the whole value of the crop, when 
used as food for live stock. In growing cabbage, 
therefore, the recommendation to ''gather up the 
fragments that nothing be lost" is peculiarly fitting. 

Because of the considerable labor involved in 
growing cabbage the crop is adapted to intensive 
rather than to extensive conditions. The farmer 
having a small farm located near a town or city, and 
having on that farm few animals, can usually grow 
this crop to better advantage than the man whose 
conditions are the opposite. 

Cabbage furnish excellent food for horses, 
cattle, sheep and swine. It has a nutritive ratio of 
I 15.2 and, therefore, is in itself almost a perfectly 
balanced food for milch cows. It is not only relished 
highly by the various classes of animals mentioned, 
but when fed to those giving milk, as to cows, ewes 
and brood sows, it has much power to produce an 
abundant flow of milk. The heads when chopped 
fine furnish a peculiarly grateful and appetizing food 
for young lambs. The yields obtained per acre are 
in some instances simply enormous. Crops of forty 
to fifty tons have been grown, but these figures are 
much above the average. 




.5 o 



PLANTS OF THE BRASSICA GENUS. 1 57 

Distribution. — This crop is wide in its distri- 
bution. There is probably no state in our repubhc 
and no province in Canada in which it may not be 
grown, and with considerable success. While it has 
highest adaptation for cool and moist climates, it 
will, nevertheless, grow better relatively in warm 
climates than rape. But in these the enemies of the 
plant, such as the aphis and the cabbage worm, are 
much more troublesome than in northern latitudes 
where the mean summer temperature is lower. This 
crop may be grown in best form in the states of the 
Union which border upon Canada and in the 
provinces of Canada which border upon the 
United States. But excellent crops can be grown 
under certain conditions in states much further 
south. In fact, there are but few states in the 
Union which, in some of their more elevated valleys, 
do not furnish just the right conditions for grow- 
ing cabbage. 

Where the crop can be successfully grown as 
human food, it may also be successfully grown as 
food for live stock, for the requisite conditions to 
produce either crop are essentially the same. But it 
should be carefully observed, that because a cabbage 
crop has given a financial profit when grown for the 
human family, it does not follow it will also give a 
financial profit when grown as food for live stock. 
Such an assumption would not, of necessity, be cor- 
rect, since it involves the consideration of relative 
values of cabbage in the market and of meat and 
milk produced by the cabbage when fed. 

Soil. — Cabbage like all plants of the Brassica 
genus luxuriate in a fertile soil, and more especially 



158 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

in one abundantly supplied with humus. The 
alluvial soils of narrow valleys and river bottoms 
furnish for them a most congenial home. The same 
is true of the deep rich black loams of the virgin 
prairie and of slough lands. They also revel in the 
muck soils of swamps that have been drained. They 
can be grown on rich loams in fine form, and good 
crops can even be obtained from clays of no little 
density, but not without much labor. Fair crops 
can also be grown on all lands well adapted to the 
production of Indian corn, but more fertility, 
relatively, is required to grow a good crop of 
cabbage than will suffice to grow a good crop 
of corn. The lands with least adaptation for 
cabbage are those which are light, leachy and 
low in fertility. Good cabbage soils are usually 
if not always underlaid with clay, not too near 
and yet not too distant from the surface. Good 
crops may be grown on upland soils naturally 
dry in character, but only by the aid of abun- 
dant fertilizing. 

Place in the Rotation. — The cabbage crop like 
all other crops that are given much cultivation should 
be made a cleaning crop. It should invariably be 
followed by a crop of grain of the non-leguminous 
order, unless there are good reasons for doing other- 
wise. The grain crop should have grass seeds sown 
along with it to produce hay or pasture. But owing 
to the peculiar power which cabbage, in common 
with all plants of this family, have to feed upon 
decaying vegetable matter, there is a peculiar fitness 
in growing a crop of cabbage on overturned sod. 
Any kind of sod will suffice, but of course, the more 



PLANTS OF THE BRASSICA GENUS. 1 59 

dense the better adapted it is for the purpose. Goo<J 
clover sod has much adaptation for the production 
of good crops of cabbage. 

Preparing the Soil. — When cabbage is grown 
specially for soiling food, late crops are much pre- 
ferred to those that mature early. What will now 
be said on the preparation of the soil will have more 
especial reference to the growing of late crops. In 
preparing the land for this crop the soil should as a 
rule be deeply broken. To this there may be some 
exceptions, as for instance, when sod land is over- 
turned but a short time before the crop is planted on 
it, and more especially, when the soil has in it a 
strong admixture of clay. The ideal treatment 
under such conditions is to plow the sod only 
moderately deep and to follow the ordinary plow 
with a subsoil plow. The crop of clover or grass 
should be allowed to make as much growth as 
possible before it is turned under. As soon as the 
land is plowed, the roler should follow the plow as 
closely as possible. The green mass thus turned 
under will begin to decay quickly and the young 
cabbage plants will find in it most congenial food and 
drink. Good crops of cabbage may be grown after 
crimson clover has been cut, or even after the 
medium red has been harvested. The chief difficulty 
to be met in sowing crops this late is that of sprout- 
ing the seed, since the weather at that season is 
usually dry. In other instances cabbage may be 
grown with profit when green rye has been buried 
that had been sown the previous autumn. But the 
rye should be buried while yet quite succulent, or it 
will not decay with sufficient quickness. There may 



l6o SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

also be occasions when the ground should be plowed 
in the fall, as for instance, when the land is very foul. 
It may then be at least partially cleaned in the spring 
before the seed is sown. And when old sod lands are 
covered with a dense turf, it may be a good practice 
to plow them in the fall, to give the roots more time 
to decay before the planting of the crop. When 
such lands have been plowed, the surface soil should 
be cut up deeply and finely by some implement 
adapted to such work. The roots of the young 
plants can then push their way through the soil much 
more readily and the decay of the sod will be 
much hastened. 

It is not easy to make the land too rich for cab- 
bage by the application of fertilizers, but it would be 
easy to so apply fertilizers that there would be waste 
of the same. For instance, if farmyard manure, 
commercial fertilizers, or both were applied in excess 
of the needs of the crop on a leachy soil and in an 
area possessed of a rainy climate, much of the excess 
of fertility unused by the crop would be washed out 
of the soil before the planting of the next crop. That 
the plants may be abundantly supplied with food, 
and that such waste may be avoided, the practice has 
become common w^hen growing cabbage to apply 
much of the fertilizer along and near the line of the 
row where the plants are to be grown. But where 
fertility has thus to be distributed with so much care, 
it is at least questionable if cabbage can be profitably 
grown as a food for live stock. On many of the 
prairies of the west, especially in the slough lands of 
the same, enormous crops can be grown without the 
application of any kind of fertilizer. 



PLANTS OF THE BRASSICA GENUS. l6l 

Farmyard manure is an excellent fertilizer for 
cabbage, but unless applied some time before the 
planting of the crop it should be somewhat reduced 
before being used. Many eastern growers compost 
farmyard manure with night soil and muck, or cer- 
tain forms of fish waste, and when sufficiently near 
the sea they add kelp. Purely commercial fertilizers 
will not give returns so satisfactory, in the entire 
absence of farmyard manures, as when the latter is 
present. When both are applied the manure is com- 
monly plowed in and the commercial fertilizer placed 
in and near the line of the row which is to receive the 
seed. These fertilisers are thus made specially help- 
ful to the plants while they are young and the barn- 
yard manure is more helpful at a later period. Such 
fertilizers as guano, superphosphate with much 
nitrogen in it and hen manure are excellent for such 
a use, and so are wood ashes. Cabbage feeds freely 
upon the three essential elements in complete fer- 
tilizers, but most freely on potash. 

In any case, if the soil is not rich where a crop 
of cabbage is to be grown, it should be made so, since 
an ample supply of fertility not only fortifies the 
crop against such vicissitudes as unduly dry weather, 
for instance, but it is also necessary in order to pro- 
duce a profitable crop. 

Sozvmg. — It is, at least, questionable if it will 
pay to grow cabbage for green food only, in locali- 
ties where they cannot be easily and surely grown 
by the method of sowing the seed in rows rather 
than by that of transplanting. Of course it is dif- 
ferent when the crop is grown mainly for the mar- 
ket, the residue only being fed to live stock. 
II 



l62 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

In some localities plants grow so readily and so 
surely, that the crop may be grown by sowing the 
seed where the plants are To remain. It may be thus 
grown in many instances as surely and easily as a 
crop of turnips or rutabagas. The western and 
northwestern states have special adaptation for the 
growing of cabbage crops by this method. In other 
localities their insect enemies are so numerous that 
it is almost necessary to start the plants where they 
can be given protection, and then after they have 
made a good start to transplant them into the field. 

The seed may be sown by first marking off the 
ground, then using a hand drill which deposits the 
seed in the line of the marks that have been made; 
som.e grain drills may be used to sow the seed with- 
out the seed beng mixed with anything. With 
other patterns of drills it is necessary to mix the seed 
with some such bulky substance as salt. The rows 
should not be closer to one another than thirty inches, 
nor more distant than thirty-six inches. The seed 
should be buried to a depth varying from less than 
one inch to more than two inches, according to the 
nature of the soil. A roller should also in nearly all 
instances be run over the soil before and after sow- 
ing the seed. 

The late varieties are to be preferred, and among 
these the larger sorts ; as for instance, the Drumhead 
and Savoy. The early varieties do not grow suffi- 
ciently large. They are also lacking in an 
abundance of leaf growth, nor do they keep so well 
as the large and late varieties do. The best variety 
for each particular location, however, can only be 
ascertained by actual test. 



PLANTS OF THE BRASSICA GENUS. 1 63 

From one to two pounds of seed per acre will 
be sufficient. The first mentioned quantity should 
be ample under average conditions, but it may be 
necessary sometimes to sow fully twice that amount. 

The time for sowing the seed will depend con- 
siderably upon the place which is given the crop in 
the rotation. The young plants are somewhat 
tender for a time, hence hard frosts in the spring- 
will destroy them. But they will withstand slight 
frosts without harm. Tlie seed should not be sown, 
therefore, much sooner than the regular season of 
corn planting. There m.ay be instances Avhere the 
crop sown thus early will mature too soon to best 
serve the end for which it was grown. When plants 
reach a maximum growth in hot weather, many of 
the outer leaves wither and are lost as food. Sow- 
ing should not be done at a period so late as to 
hinder the crops from making good heads, since the 
food value lies more in the head than in any other 
part of the plant. But this crop may, with more 
propriety than some others, be sown somewhat late, 
owing to the great power which it has to continue to 
grow in the late autumn 

Should the small black beetle (Epifrix spec.) 
attack the plants when young, they ought to be 
dusted promptly, and while the dew is yet on, with 
air-slaked lime and wood ashes. And should the 
plants suffer later from the attacks of the cabbage 
worm (Pieris rapae, Linn. ) they ought to be sprayed 
once or twice with kerosene emulsion or paris green. 
Paris green would be the more effective application 
of the two and there will not be any real danger in 
using it thus when the cabbage are not to be fed for 



l54 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

some weeks subsequently. These remedies will prove 
effective unless under extremely adverse conditions. 

Cultivation. — The relation, between abundant 
3aelds, and the nature and extent of the cultivation 
that is given to the cabbage crop, is both close anJ. 
intimate. As soon as the young plants distinctly 
mark the line of the row the cultivation should begin. 
And when weeds are superabundant, if the land is 
stirred by the hand hoe close up to the plants and 
for a short distance on both sides of them, the labor 
thus expended will be amply rewarded in the more 
vigorous growth of the plants, and in the greater 
ease with which they can be thinned. The culti- 
vation should be frequent and should be continued 
as long as it can be done without breaking off any 
considerable number of the lateral leaves of the 
plants. 

The thinning of the plants should ordinarily 
begin while they are not yet more than three or four 
inches high. If left unthinned for a much longer 
period they become more or less spindling and do not 
produce so large a head. But when the cutworms 
are numerous it may be well to defer thinning to a 
later period than would be advisable in the absence 
of such an enemy. The thinning is almost entirely 
done by the use of the hoe. The individual using 
it strikes forward and pushes backward as in thin- 
ning turnips; the plants not wanted fall before the 
hoe. The distance to which they should be thinned 
will depend upon the variety, upon the time during 
which the crop may continue to grow, and upon the 
nature of the soil and season. The distance will 
vary, say, from eighteen inches to thirty inches. 



PLANTS OF THE BRASSICA GENUS. 1 65 

The average may be stated as twenty-four inches. 
When thinning the plants, the skilled workman will 
detect at a glance a single plant growing about the 
right distance from the one last left to grow. He 
can then without hesitation cut out all the interven- 
ing plants. Though this single plant should vary 
one, two, or even three inches from the exact distance 
fixed upon, it would be better to leave this plane 
than to leave one of a cluster in the exact spot, but 
from which the plants around it must needs be pulled 
out by hand. And if a blank should occur it can 
easily be filled during the thinning process. 

The workman strikes his hoe downward into 
the soil and lifts out the earth above it. He then 
strikes it down beneath a single plant which other- 
wise would be cut out and lifting it up on his hoe 
with the adherent earth sets it down into the hole 
previously made. Young plants may thus be re- 
moved at almost any hour of the day, and without 
much wanting of the leaves. 

Feeding. — When the crop is sold in the market, 
the feeding of the unused portion should begin at 
once, the leaves being gathered with a fork and 
conveyed directly to the stock, or stored in a flat pile 
for subsequent feeding, not more than a foot in 
depth. If allowed to lie on the ground underneath 
a hot sun, they would soon wither and entirely lose 
their feeding value. 

But when the crop is to be fed in its entirety, 
the plants may first be cut off at the surface of the 
ground or underneath it by the use of a sharp hoe 
or spade. A strong spud would probably do the 
work more effectively than either the hoe or the 



l66 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

Spade, and with more ease to the operator. The 
plants are then carted to the feeding place, whether 
it be in a pasture, paddock, yard, shed or stable. 

All classes of live stock will devour the plants, 
leaving only the woody stalks, unless in the case of 
young lambs. For these they should be minced. 
When fed to cow^s giving milk, care should be taken 
lest too many be fed, and the cabbage should be 
given just after each milking. When thus fed to 
milch cows a considerable proportion of the whole 
ration may consist of cabbage without imparting 
to the milk any disagreeable taint. Every care 
should be taken to avoid feeding cabbage leaves 
wdiich are partly decayed to cows giving milk, or 
most unpleasant odors will arise in the milk. 

The feeding of the crop may begin as soon as 
it is mature or a little previous to maturity. The 
feeding may continue without interruption until the 
crop is entirely consumed. If winter threatens to 
close in before the crop has been all fed, it should at 
once be carted to some place convenient for feeding, 
and also sheltered from the cold wands, as by the 
side of a straw stack, and there piled up if need be 
several feet deep and then covered with straw. The 
1 ceding from this pile may go on without interrup- 
tion until the crop is consumed. The duration of 
such feeding, however, is largely affected by climate. 
In latitudes w^here the wnnters are mild, cabbage may 
be stored for future feeding by stacking them in the 
form of a ridge roof on the surface of the ground, 
or from some distance below^ it, and may be covered 
with one or two feet of straw, rough litter, or marsh 
hay, according as one or the other of these may be 



PLANTS OF THE BRASSICA GENUS. 1 67 

convenient. To economize space it will be well to 
break off the outer leaves before the plants are thus 
stacked with the heads downward. If cabbage freeze 
when thus stored, no serious harm will follow. While 
thus frozen, cabbage should never be fed to any kind 
of live stock, not even swine. And it should be 
remembered that alternate freezing and thawing are 
greatly injurious to this plant. 

Cabbage may be kept even more surely and 
probably more simply in some climates, by lifting 
them with the potato fork and standing them in a 
double or treble line, with the root upward and with 
all or nearly all the leaves retained. The cabbages 
are brought to a ridge by adding a third row when 
there are but two rows on the ground, or by adding 
two rows and then another when there are three 
rows on the foundation. They are then covered as 
described above. And sometimes a plow furrow 
may be turned toward tlie cabbage on either side 
with manifest advantage. 



CHAPTER VIIL 

THE COMMON CEREALS. 

The chief of the common cereals grown in this 
country, are wheat, oats, barley and rye. They are 
produced as winter, or spring varieties according to 
the circumstances under which they are grown. 
All of these may be grown singly for soiling food, 
or they may be grown in various combinations. 
Peas and vetches may also be included in some of 
these combinations, and when they can be so in- 
cluded, much is added to the value of the food; as 
shown in Chapter VI. The least valuable of these 
crops for soiling uses are rye and barley. Rye 
turns woody so soon after the ear has formed, that 
it becomes unpalatable; and the feeding value of 
barley is lessened soon after it somes out in head, 
because of the presence of the beards found in 
nearly all varieties of this cereal. For feeding pur- 
poses these mixtures are usually valuable in propor-- 
tion to the peas or vetches Avhich they contain. This 
arises from the more nitrogenous character of the 
latter, their greater palatability, and the large yields 
of the fodder which they produce in pea and vetch 
soils. 

The combinations in which these crops may be 
grown are various. There may be instances in 
which several of them may be grown together, but 
usually only two or three varieties are thus grown. 

1 68 




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I/O SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

Three of these combinations stand higher in favor 
than the others. I, A combination of peas and oats ; 
2, a combination of vetches and oats ; and 3, a com- 
bination of wheat and oats. The last named 
combination is frequently grown where peas or 
vetches cannot be reUed upon to furnish soiHng 
food. 

Several advantages arise from growing these 
plants in combination, i. Usually there is a greater 
production of food from, a given area. 2, They 
can be grown more thickly, hence the straw is finer 
and is better relished by stock. 3, They furnish 
a better balanced food than when grown alone. 

The green food produced by these mixed crops 
can be fed to all classes of live stock, but it has 
relatively higher adaptation for dairy cattle, be- 
cause of the free milk giving that results from feed- 
ing it. i\Iixed crops may be fed to sheep and swine, 
but only when in a quite succulent stage of growth, 
or when it is almost entirely composed of peas or 
vetches. AMieat, oats, barley and rye become so 
woody when well advanced in growth, that sheep and 
SAvine do not relish them. It" is more common to 
pasture both on these mixtures than to feed them 
in the form of soiling food. 

The yields will of course vary with the con- 
ditions. The miinimum crop that it would be profit- 
able to grow may be fixed at, say, six tons per acre. 
A good crop should run from ten to twelve tons per 
acre. But it is sometimes possible to double these 
amounts. 

Distrihufion. — Wheat, oats, barley and rye 
possess a wide distribution. The distribution of 



THE COMMON CEREALS. I7I 

peas and vetches has already been considered in 
Chapter VI. All these grains unless it be peas, can 
be grown in both the winter and spring varieties. 
The four first named can be grown in some portion, 
or portions of every state in the Union and of every 
province of Canada. South of the fortieth parallel 
they do not generally grow so freely as north of that 
line, hence they are not so valuable for producing 
green food as some other crop or crops better adapted 
to soils that are frequently low in plant food, or 
lacking in moisture. 

Wheat is usually considered too valuable to be 
used as soiling food, -and yet there are some localities, 
where it can be more cheaply grown for such a use 
than almost any other kind of food. These localities 
include much of the land in the northerly portions of 
the semi-arid belt east of the Rocky mountains, the 
Palouse and Walla W^alla areas of Washington, and 
limited areas in northwestern Oregon. In all these 
areas wheat is grown as hay, and where it furnishes 
a highly prized food for hay it will also furnish a 
very suitable soiling food. There are Other areas 
so perfectly adapted to the growth of immense crops 
of oats that this plant can be made to furnish green 
food more cheaply than any other. Such are certain 
river valleys west of the Cascade mountains. Barley, 
although it grows very rapidly, is commonly too 
low in production to make it a profitable soiling 
crop, but it will produce green food under a greater 
variety of conditions than any of the other cereals 
tinder consideration. In addition to its being low 
in palatability there is the objection that it is com- 
monly in season for feeding when grass is plentiful. 



172 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

Soil. — Wheat, oats, barley and rye may be 
successfully g-rown on a wide range of soils. Each 
kind, nevertheless, has its favorite soil. Wheat 
luxuriates in deep, moist, pliable loam soils, well 
spiced with clay and well stored with vegetable 
matter. The loose lying soils of nearly all the west- 
ern prairies have high adaptation for wheat pro- 
duction. Soils ill adapted to the growing of wheat 
include those that are sandy and poorly supplied 
with nitrogen, those that are shallow, with hardpan 
coming near the surface, and those that contain an 
excess of water at any time during the growth of 
the plants. Oats also grow most luxuriantly on 
soils that are best suited to the growth of wheat. 
But since the oat plant is a more gross feeder than 
the wheat plant, it will produce a better growth 
relativel}^ than wheat on soil ill conditioned, me- 
chanically and imperfectly supplied with plant food. 
Barley will grow better relatively on soils rich in 
humus and in readily available fertility. Black 
loam soils, with enough sand to keep them in a good 
mechanical condition, have high adaptation for 
barley, and since this grain feeds near the surface 
rather than far down, much depth of subsoil is less 
essential to the growth of barley than to the growth 
of wheat and oats. The soils with least adaptation 
for barley include those deficient in humus and which 
contain an excess of clay. Since the crop grows 
rapidty, if it is to be a success, the young plants 
must be able to send their rootlets quickly and in all 
directions between the soil particles. 

Rye is beyond all comparison the most vigor- 
ous feeder of the four cereals under discussion. It 



THE COMMON CE^REALS. 1 73 

will Stand more abuse than wheat, oats or barley; 
that is to say, it will grow better than any of these 
when sown on soil not well prepared, poorly sup- 
plied with plant food, and under adverse climatic 
conditions. Rye will grow well on all soils pos- 
sessed of high adaptation for wheat, oats or 
barley. It will also give a fairly good return on 
soils too light and poor to produce good crops 
of those cereals. 

When these plants are grown in combination 
the aim should be to grow them on soils generously 
supplied with plant food. The value of a soiling 
food is usually largely proportionate to the abun- 
dance of the yield, hence the mistake of sowing imder 
conditions that do not give promise of an abundant 
yield. One variety will find its favorite food in 
such a soil and will appropriate the same. A second 
variety will do likewise, and so with a third and 
fourth. Since these appropriations draw in differ- 
ent degrees on the same food elements, each is 
enabled to get its share and thus to contribute to a 
large aggregate yield. In growing these crops as 
green food, it should be remembered that since the 
object is to get a large amotmt of green food with- 
out regard to grain production, the best soiling 
crops will be obtained on lands too rich for the high- 
est grain production. 

Place in the Rotation. — These crops may be 
given almost any place in the rotation, since they are 
cut before weeds can ripen in their midst. A foul 
condition of the land at the time of sowing, though 
objectionable, is not so seriously objectionable as in 
growing sorrte other crops. These crops may be 



174 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. • 

grown in a sense as catch crops ; that is to say, after 
early pasture crops, as winter rye. Or they may be 
sown early and be followed by some other crops ; as 
for instance, rape, winter wheat or winter rye, and 
in certain areas by winter vetches or crimson clover. 
When these crops precede a winter crop, there is 
usually ample time to prepare the land well before 
the winter crop is sown. They may also be followed 
by the bare fallow. And in some instances they 
may be sown late in the season to provide green food 
late in the fall. These crops are essentially clean- 
ing crops, and they thus help to clean the land with- 
out special effort on the part of the grower to reach 
such a result. 

Preparing the Soil. — The preparation of the 
land for these- crops is simple, as it is for all crops 
that fit in almost anywhere in the rotation. Usually 
the deeper, the finer, the more moist, the richer and 
cleaner the seed bed, the more satisfactory will be 
the results when the crop has been sown. And as 
a rule these conditions can be more perfectly secured 
when considerable time elapses between the plowing 
of the land and the sowing of the seed. But there 
are soils in which deep plowing but a short time 
before sowing the seed would be harmful rather than 
helpful to the crop. Such are light sands and 
heavy clays. When these crops are to be sown after 
another crop previously harvested the same season, 
moisture in the soil will be conserved to a much 
greater extent by using the roller and harrow freely 
as soon as possible after the land has been plowed. 

On lands of average fertility these grain crops 
may of course be grown quite sucessfully without 



THE COMMON CEREALS. 1/5 

further enriching the land. But it may be profitable 
to add fertilizers when the facilities are at hand, to 
stimulate abundant production. Farmyard manures 
are excellent when applied in a form suitable to the 
needs of the land. Where much rainfall is expected 
the manure may be applied in the fresh form, but 
when moisture will probably be deficient, it should 
be applied in the reduced form. 

The commercial fertilizers most commonly used 
are those which are designated complete fertilizers, 
but the nitrogen content m them should usually be 
high to meet the need of these crops. And when 
moisture is present in a sufficient degree, these crops 
may be further stimulated by sowing on them nitro- 
gen in some form, after the plants have made a good 
start. It is not usual, however, to go to much ex- 
pense in specially enriching the land for this class of 
green crops, because of the short duration of the 
period of growth. 

Solving. — The seed may be broadcasted when 
the facilities for drilling it are not at hand, but in 
nearly all instances it will be found preferable to 
sow the seed with the drill. The drill buries 
it more uniformly as to depth and covers it more 
perfectly. Ordinarily when these grains are sown 
as mixtures, it is labor saving and more satis- 
factory in various ways to mix them before they 
are sown. 

The most suitable kinds to sow will be those 
which past experience has shown to be the most 
vigorous growers. These will vary with variations 
in climate and soil. No one variety of any kind of 
grain can be found that will grow equally well in all 



lyO SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

parts even of a single state. In choosing varieties 
preference should be given to those which stool 
much, and produce growth of a fine character, pro- 
viding they are not too weak in the straw to prove 
satisfactory. 

When these grains are sown singly, the quantity 
of seed that may best be used can be given only 
approximately. The same is true of them when sown 
in combination. In some soils the plants stool much 
more than in others and grow with much more vigor. 
The quantity of seed therefore, that will best serve 
the end sought will have to be ascertained by actual 
test. It will seldom be found profitable to sow less 
than two or more than three bushels per acre. The 
latter quantity or a close approximate to it will 
usually prove more satisfactory than a less quantity 
of seed. But when vetches form a chief factor in 
the crop, a less quantity of seed may suffice, because 
of the small relative size of the vetch seed. 

When wheat and oats are sown together, it is 
customary to sow^ about equal quantities of each. 
This will give a preponderance of the oat element 
in the crop, because of the greater stooling power of 
the latter, and this is so far satisfactory since green 
oats are considered more palatable than green wheat. 
When peas and oats are sown together, the most 
suitable quantity of the seed of each will be de- 
termined chiefly by conditions which relate to the 
soil adaptation, as previously intimated. Because 
of the nitrogenous character of the peas and because 
of their high palatability, the aim should be to have 
the peas form the preponderating element in the 
food. The same is also true of vetches. It may be 



THE COMMON CEREALS. 1/7 

necessary, therefore, to sow the peas or vetches as 
three to one or two to one by measure, as compared 
with the oats in the mixture. On the other hand 
certain soils may be so much better adapted to grow- 
ing peas or vetches than oats, that in order to secure 
the necessary support for the former, more than half 
of the seed by measure must needs consist of oats. 
When peas and vetches are both sow^n along with 
oats, the proportions that ought to be sown of each 
in the mixture should be determined by conditions 
that relate to soil and climate, and to the character 
of the food sought. 

Usually the common cereals are sown to pro- 
vide soiling food as early as possible in the season, 
though of course they are frequently sown later ; in 
certain instances as late as midsummer. To prolong 
the season of feeding, it is common to sow a portion 
only of the seed at iirst, and the remainder two or 
three weeks later, or it is sown at two intervening 
intervals rather than one. The chief objection to 
the plan is found in the decreased production of 
the later sowings, but to this there are some ex- 
ceptions. 

Another plan sows a quick maturing variety as 
barley, and at the same time a mixture that grows 
more slowly, as peas and oats. The period of feed- 
ing may thus be made to cover from, say five to 
eight weeks, and if the quantity sown should be in 
excess of the needs of the stock, it can be turned to 
excellent account by harvesting it for winter fodder 
when the grain, or much of it, is in the milk stage. 
Barley is probably the most suitable of all the com- 
mon cereals to provide green food in the autumn; 

12 



THE C0MMON CEREALS. 1/9 

and in moist climates only, can it be sown for such 
a purpose, as for instance, in New England. 

Cultivation. — Ordinarily no cultivation is given 
to these crops after they liave been sown. But there 
may be instances when the harrow can be used on 
them to advantage, more especially when peas and 
oats have been sown together and buried with the 
grain drill at an even depth. If harrowed with 
more or less thoroughness just as the first young 
plants begin to appear, the growth of weeds will be 
checked and the moisture in the ground will be better 
conserved. Before the weeds can make a good start 
again the plants get so far ahead of them as to 
materially hinder their growth. But if the ground 
is unduly moist, the harrow cannot of course be used 
thus. A light harrow should be used, generally, 
having teeth slanted backward. 

There may also be instances when it would be 
more profitable to plant the crop in rows sufficiently 
distant to give them more or less horse cultivation. 
Such a method of growing these plants would be 
especially helpful where moisture is not present in 
sufficient quantities to produce a maximum growth. 
Crops thus cultivated would no doubt produce much 
more abundantly* in a dry region, but the system 
belongs rather to the future than to the present. 
The machinery for bestowing such cultivation has 
not yet been perfected. 

Feeding. — With regard to the best method of 
feeding these crops, much that has been said under 
the head of feeding in the chapter on corn will be 
equally applicable to them. The cutting of rye as a 
soiling food should begin as soon as the first growth 



THE COMMON CEREALS. . l8l 

will justify such a course, and it should not be fed for 
any considerable time after it has reached the earing 
stage, unless it is to be run through a cutting box and 
fed with other food, as ''chaffed" hay. When thus 
prepared, and meal is added to the mixture, it would 
then be possible to feed green rye until the grain 
began to form in the ear, and possibly for a longer 
period. If fed alone after it has fully come out in 
head, animals do not relish it sufficiently to make it a 
desirable soiling food. Barley also should be fed at 
a stage before the beards begin to stiffen. 

When food is grown in mixtures the grains 
composing these will not always be possessed of 
equal advancement, careful discrimination is neces- 
sary on the part of the grower as to when the cutting 
should begin. Usually when peas, or vetches in the 
mixture have produced some blossoms and when 
the heads of other kinds of grain are ready to leave 
the leafy envelope which surrounds them, the cutting 
of the crop may begin. At the stage indicated as 
suitable to begin cutting these crops, they have not 
reached that stage when they contain the highest 
food value, but to leave them longer before begin- 
ning to harvest them would, too much, curtail the 
duration of the period in which they could be fed 
with profit in the green form. 

Like other green crops they are cut with the 
scythe or mower, and drawn in the usual way. 
When these crops grow A^ery rankly they are 
occasionally thrown down with storms which in- 
creases the labor of cutting them. In some instances 
the mower can only be driven on two sides of the 
plot or field, if the crop is to be cleanly gathered. 



l82 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

The food when cut may be hfted with sufficient 
cleanness when a fork is used, with several tines in it, 
that is to say, a fork made somewhat after the plan 
of a barley fork. The green food may be fed 
without any wilting, but a moderate amount of wilt- 
ing is in no way injurious to it. 

When there is a surplus of green food it may of 
course be allowed to reach a stage of early ripening, 
and may then be harvested for winter use. In 
harvesting the same the mower or the binder may be 
used according to the attendant circumstances, but 
if the binder is used the sheaves should be made 
small rather than large, tied loosely rather than 
tightly, and cured in oblong rather than in round 
shocks. \Mieat and oats grown together ought to 
be cut for winter food at a stage somewhat earlier 
than peas and oats to insure enough palatability in 
the straw\ When the stems of the plants turn 
yellow for a short distance above the ground, the 
crop is ready for harvesting. Peas and oats thus 
harvested make a splendid fodder for winter feed- 
ing. It is easily cured and handled, and is at once 
highly palatable and nutritious. 



CHAPTER IX. 



MILLETS. 



Millet is one of the most important and valuable 
soiling crops grown in this country. Its great 
value as soiling food arises, ist, from the palatable 
and nutritious character of the food which it pro- 
duces; 2nd, from the shortness of the period re- 
quired to grow it; 3rd, from the large amount 
of food that can be grown upon rich land ; 4th, from 
the wide distribution of the crop; and 5th, from 
the many and various places which may be assigned 
to it in the rotation, consequently when it becomes 
better know^n, it w^ill be used as soiling food to a 
much greater extent than it is at the present time. 

Millet is of many species and varieties, not a 
few of w^hich have been but little tested in this 
country, and consequently they are not as yet well 
understood. The classification of the millets is still 
regarded as incomplete by the Department of 
Agrostology at Washington, but for the present 
the said Department has grouped them as the fox- 
tail, the barnyard, the broom corn and the pearl 
groups. To the foxtail millets belong such sorts as 
the Common, the German, the Hungarian and the 
Golden wonder varieties. These are relatively small 
and fine in their habit of growth. German millet 
is characterized by an abundant leaf growth. Hun- 
garian millet produces heads of a dark shade, hence 

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MILLETS. 185 

it may easily be distinguished from other foxtail 
millets after the earing stage. Golden wonder 
millet is a great seed producer but it is probably 
less valuable as a soiling food than the other varieties 
of the foxtail class. 

The barn yard millets include the varieties de- 
rived from the common barn yard grass (Panicum 
crus-galli) . The African millets are also included 
in this class. They are characterized by an abundant 
growth, but are somewhat coarse in character 
The broom corn millets are rather grown for the 
grain they praduce than to provide soiling food, but 
they also may be m^ade to furnish soiling food. 
The pearl millets are but little grown as yet in this 
country. Some of the varieties produce an abun- 
dant growth, but they are not considered so palatable 
as cultivated millets of the foxtail class. They have 
not been much introduced as yet into American 
agriculture, hence little can be said as to their adapta- 
tion and value. But one variety of this group will 
be considered in Chapter XIII, when discussing 
plants whose value in providing soiling food has not 
been fully demonstrated. 

Distribution. — Few plants grown* as food for 
live stock on this continent are of wider distribu- 
tion than millet. Since it can be sufficiently ad- 
vanced in growth for being cut as soiling food in 
from fifty to ninety days from the date of sowing, 
there are but few localities in the United States in 
which it may not be grown with entire success. 
And since it is in a pre-eminent degree a plant of 
the sun, the climatic conditions least favorable to its 
growth in our country will probably be found in 



MILLETS. 187 

Oregon and Washington, between the mountains 
and the sea. In all the other portions of the United 
States the season of high summer temperatures is 
sufficiently prolonged to force millet crops quickly 
into maturity, unless it be upon the mountain up- 
lands. The climate of all the central and southern 
states is markedly favorable to the growth of millet. 

The highest adaptation of soil and climate 
together are probably found in the Mississippi basin, 
from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico. Millet 
is an indispensable adjunct to the hay crops grown 
within this basin, and it is an indispensable factor in 
growing soiling foods for stock. The less favorable 
the conditions for the successful growth of hay 
crops the more indispensable does the millet crop 
seem to be. The climatic conditions in what are 
usually spoken of as the southern states are equalh^ 
favorable, but not so of the soil conditions, hence 
the growth of millet is not so common in these as it 
would otherwise be. The crop has not been grown 
to nearly the same extent in New England and the 
adjacent states as in the Mississippi valley, because 
of the stiffer soils, and in many instances because 
of the more hungry soils of the former. The millet 
crop can also be grown with a fair measure of suc- 
cess in nearly all of the cultivated parts of Canada. 
The lowest adaptation is found in British Columbia 
and in the Maritime Provinces beside the Atlantic, 
and the highest adaptation in the prairie provinces 
eastward from the Rocky mountains to Lake 
Superior. 

Soil. — Millet in all its forms requires a rich 
soil and a soil easily penetrated by the roots of the 



1 88 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

plant in order to grow it in the best form. Soils 
abounding in vegetable matter and naturally warmi 
and friable, and which furnish plant food abundantly 
in a readily available form, are best adapted to the 
growth of millet. Such soils abound in much of 
the prairie region which extends from the Gulf of 
Mexico far northward, although in seasons that are 
moist, good crops of millet may be grown even on 
stiff clays. But these soils are not well suited, as a 
rule, to the growth of millet. In nearly all instances 
too much labor has to be bestowed upon such soils 
to prepare a seed bed sufficiently fine and moist. 
They are not sufficiently penetrable to the roots of 
the millet, and the plant food in them is not suffi- 
ciently available. Light zmd hungry sandy soils are 
ill adapted to the growth of this crop, and the same 
is true of soils unduly moist and cold. But immense 
crops can be grown on the muck soils of drained 
sloughs and marshes. Millet can be grown nicely 
under irrigation in the warm mountain valleys of the 
west. But in these it is not specially needed because of 
the abundant product of alfalfa obtained from them. 

Place in the Rotation. — Millet in nearly all its 
varieties may be given almost any place in the rota- 
tion. It may be the sole crop for the season, or it 
may be grown as a catch crop. It is more com- 
monly grown as a catch crop, since in many sections 
the season is amply long to grow a crop of millet 
after another crop has been removed and before an 
autumn crop has been planted on the same land. 

Millet is seldom made the sole crop grown upon 
the land, except in instances where the husbandman 
has been unable to sow other crops in season, because 



MILLETS. 189 

of excessive wetness in the soil, or because of some 
other reason. But when it is thus grown it may in a 
sense be made a cleaning crop, even though sown 
broadcast, since there is more or less time for sprout- 
ing the weed seeds near the surface of the ground 
before the millet is sown, and when the seed is 
sown in rows and cultivated it may always be made 
a cleaning crop. 

Millet may be sown with much propriety after 
such winter crops as rye, the winter vetch, the winter 
oat, or crimson clover when these have been pastured 
or cut for green food. Under favorable conditions 
it may be sown after the first cutting of medium 
red clover or even after grain crops that have 
matured early, and it fits in nicely after newly sown 
meadow crops in which the ''stand" of grass has 
been a partial failure, and which in consequence has 
been grazed down. With equal fitness it may come 
after spring sown grain which from any cause may 
have failed. Fall wheat is sometimes sown after 
millet, but the plan of sowing it thus is not a good 
one, since millet, like flax, preys heavily upon the 
fertility of the soil. It has also been noticed that it 
leaves the soil much depleted of its moisture. It 
may with much greater propriety be followed by 
winter rye, which has greater power than winter 
wheat to gather food in the soil, and with equal pro- 
priety it may be followed by a leguminous crop, as 
the common winter vetch or the sand vetch. 

Preparing the Soil. — Since millet is grown so 
variously in the rotation, only directions that are 
general rather than specific can be given relating to 
the preparation of the land for the seed. It should 



igO SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

])e the aim of the grower to prepare a seed bed clean, 
moist, fine and smooth. The clean seed bed can only 
be reached by the frequent use of the harrow for some 
time previous to the sowing of the seed. But when 
millet is grown as a catch crop the season for prepar- 
ing the seed bed is usually too short to admit of thus 
cleaning the land. The means used to secure a clean 
seed bed will also tend to conserve moisture in ths 
same, and the judicious use of the roller will also 
tend to secure the same end. 

In cloddy soils, a fine seed bed can only be 
secured by the judicious use of some form of clod 
crusher or harrow and roller. In a dry time it would 
be labor lost to sow millet in cloddy soil. A level 
seed bed is secured by careful plowing and by supple- 
menting such plowing with drawing some form of 
leveler over the soil. When any considerable period 
elapses between the plowing of the land and the sow- 
ing of the seed, the land may be fitted as desired, but 
it more often happens that the seed must be sown so 
soon after the plowing of the land that it hinders the 
fitting of the same in the very best form. 

It is not usual to apply fertilizers directly in 
sow^ing a millet crop, more especially in the north 
and west. In the north, fertilizers are applied to 
crops that are considered more important. In the 
west they are not much needed. But on ordinary 
soils the yield from this crop will be greatly increased 
by the judicious use of fertilizers. When they are 
used it should be in the readily available form, owing 
to the shortness of the season in which millet makes 
its growth. If farmyard manure is applied it ought 
to be in the reduced form and incorporated as much 



MILLETS. ^ 191 

as possible witn e surface soil, since millet gathers 
its food near the surface rather than far down in 
the soil. When commercial fertilizers are used, they 
should usually contain a relatively high content of 
nitrogen, and there are instances in which what are 
termed nitrogenous fertilizers are needed. 

Sozving. — Millet is more commonly sown broad- 
cast and by hand. But it may be sown by certain 
kinds of grain drills in common use. The following 
objections apply to hand sowing : i. The seed is not 
buried so evenly, hence the germination is less per- 
fect than when the seed is sown with the drill ; 2, a 
considerable proportion of the plants start so near 
the surface that the loss of plants is greater if the 
harrow is used subsequently ; 3, the plants have also 
less power to w^ithstand drouth. 

Whether all the drill tubes should be used in 
sowing millet or only a part of them depends to a 
considerable extent on the kind of the millet. The 
small sorts are usually sovs-n with all the tubes in use, 
but the larger ones are frequently sown in rows far 
enough apart to admit of easy cultivation. These 
rows are in some instances made thirty-six inches 
apart, but more frequently the distance is not more 
than thirty inches. The small millets, as the Com- 
mon, the German, the Hungarian, the Golden Won- 
der and the Broom Corn, are more commonly sown 
when the crop is not to be cultivated. But the larger 
kinds, as the Japanese, should be preferred when 
subsequent cultivation is to be given. The smaller 
sorts furnish the more palatable food, but the larger 
ones produce the better yields, and the crops that are 
cultivated cau withstand dry conditions much better 



192 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

than those that are not so cultivated. The kinds 
best suited to the needs of any locahty can only be 
determined by positive test. 

When millet seed is sown broadcast by hand, 
not fewer than sixteen quarts of seed are sown per 
acre, nor more than thirty-two quarts. From twenty 
to twent3^-four quarts may be called average quan- 
tities. Thick sowing results in a finer growth 
in the plants, but it is only to be practiced when 
enough moisture may be looked for to supply the 
needs of the crop. When the seed is sown in rows 
far enough apart to admit of cultivating the crop, a 
few pounds of seed will suffice per acre. 

It is useless to sow millet before the ground and 
weather are both warm. When the weather is raw 
and cold for some time after sowing the millet, the 
germination is pretty certain to be imperfect, and the 
subsequent growth unsatisfactory. It is usually 
better not to begin to sow millet until the corn plant- 
ing has been finished. 

Cultivation. — Millet that is sown broadcast can- 
not even be harrowed with a light harrow after the 
seeds have sprouted, without destroying a consider- 
able proportion of the plants. But when sown with 
the drill, the plants will not be thus disturbed if the 
harrow is drawn over the ground with the teeth at a 
considerable angle, before the plants have reached the 
surface of the same. And the crop may even be 
harrowed at a later period if the work is done with 
sufficient care. But on many soils some form of 
weeder will do the work more satisfactorily when 
the seed has been broadcasted. When millet seed 
is not dear, if more seed were sown than would be 



MILLETS. 193 

deemed sufficient, then the crop can be harrowed 
with benefit to the same after the plants have become 
well rooted. Notwithstanding the destruction of 
plants, there will still be enough left, and they will 
grow much more vigorously than if the crop were 
not harrowed. 

Cultivation should begin on the crops sown with 
that object in view soon after the harrowing has been 
completed. It ought to be frequent and thorough, 
and shallow rather than deep. It will not be neces- 
sary to give the crop any hand hoeing unless it is 
infested with some form of perennial weed which 
it is desirable to exterminate, as usually it will be 
ready for being cut before annuals growing in it will 
have matured their seed. 

Feeding. — The cutting of millet as a green food 
may begin as soon as any considerable number of 
the heads have appeared and it may be continued 
until the crop is ready for being made into hay. Any 
portion of the same not wanted as green food should 
be thus disposed of unless it is wanted to produce 
seed. Millet is sufficiently advanced for being made 
into hay when all the heads are fully out. As it 
usually heads out unevenly, the tiny heads appear 
considerably later than the large ones. Or it may be 
cut when the heads present a slightly golden tint on 
looking over the field. If the crop is cut earlier 
than the stage mentioned, it is lacking in "body," 
that is to say, weight and full nutrition. If cut at 
1 later period the stems become woody and the seeds 
shatter more or less while the crop is being cured 
and stored. The scythe or the mower are to be used 
in cutting millet as green food. It is drawn and fed 

13 



194 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

as Other green food, in the pasture, paddock, yard, 
feed rack or stable mangers. It is better not to 
ahow the crop to wilt overmuch before being fed. 
But wilting millet of a growth rank and coarse in 
character will add to its palatability. There is vir- 
tually no danger from feeding it green. 

If two kinds of millet which mature at different 
periods are sown separately and at the same time, the 
period of feeding will be prolonged. The same end 
may be attained by sowing the same sort with an 
interval of three to four weeks between the periods 
of sowing the seed. The period for feeding green 
millet may thus without difficulty be made to em- 
brace from six to eight weeks except where the sea- 
son of growth is very short. When the season of 
growth is long, the period of feeding may be pro- 
longed accordingly. But care should be taken to 
harvest millet before the autumn frosts arrive, as it 
is easily injured by frost. 



CHAPTER X. 

FIELD ROOTS. 

More commonly field roots are grown to pro- 
vide winter food for live stock, but in some instances 
they are also grown to provide soiling food. The 
chief of these are rutabagas, turnips, mangels, sugar 
beets and carrots. Parsnips are too deeply rooted 
to admit of their being profitably grown as soiling 
food, and the same is somewhat true of sugar beets 
and carrots. The growing of these crops involves 
much more labor than the growing of a crop of 
rutabagas, turnips or mangels. And since rutabagas 
require a period considerably longer to mature than 
turnips, the latter are preferred for summer feeding. 
Turnips and mangels are therefore more highly 
adapted to providing green food than any of the other 
field roots that have been named. No one of these 
crops has been grown to any considerable extent in 
the United States for green food, nor has any one 
of them been grown for any purpose to anything like 
the extent to which its feeding value would justify. 
Ontario, Can., is beyond all comparison the greatest 
root-producing district in North America. 

The labor involved in growing and feeding 
these crops will probably form an effective barrier 
against their general introduction as soiling food, 
and yet there may be instances when it would be the 
part of wisdom to grow them. While for all kinds 

195 



196 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

of live stock kept upon the farm, roots furnish excel- 
lent food, they are more commonly fed in the green 
form to swine, though sometimes also to cows and 
calves, also to sheep that are fitted for being shorn. 
They are eminently suited to the needs of young 
animals, such as calves and lambs, whether fed in 
winter or summer. Since these crops can oftentimes 
be grown as a catch crop, and since they furnish a 
large amount of food per acre, an adequate return 
may frequently be obtained for the considerable 
amount of labor involved in growing them, espe- 
cially when the holdings are small and when green 
food is to be provided for a limited number 
of animals. 

As the tops and roots are both fed as green food, 
large yields are often obtained per acre, in some 
instances as much as tw^enty-five tons, but the aver- 
age crop is considerably less than that amount, the 
yield depending largely on the variety grown. 

Distribution. — The rutabaga, sometimes called 
the Swedish turnip, is best adapted to cool and moist 
climates. On this continent, the best crops can be 
grown north rather than south of the forty-third 
parallel of latitude, that is to say, north of the south- 
ern boundary of Minnesota. 

The turnip (Brassica rapa), sometimes called 
the fall turnip, since it is fed in the fall rather than 
in the winter and spring, can be grown in nearly all 
the states of the Union, in several of its varieties, but 
it, too, is best adapted to moist and not exces- 
sively hot climates. In the southern part of the 
United Stales, turnips can be grown in best form 
on the uplands, unless when grown chiefly in 



FIELD ROOTS. 197 

the autumn after the hottest weather for the 
season has gone. 

The mangel (Beta vulgaris) will endure more 
heat than the rutabaga, or turnip, hence it has a wider 
distribution than those crops, but the mangel also 
may be grown more satisfactorily where the summer 
temperatures are not excessive, hence the best mangel 
crops may be looked for north of the fortieth parallel. 

The sugar beet may be grown in good form in 
what may be termed "wine climates," that is to say, 
in climates well adapted to the production of the 
grape. But, like mangels, sugar beets may be grown 
much further north than grapes, except when vines 
of the latter are specially protected in winter. 

The carrot (Daucus car of a) also grows best 
where the summer weather is moist and temperate, 
but, like mangels, carrots can be grown in season in 
some part or parts of every state in the Union. The 
highest adaptation for field roots in North America 
is found in Oregon, Washington, the New England 
states, British Columbia, Ontario and the Maritime 
Provinces of Canada. 

Soil. — All kinds of field roots can be grown in 
good form on deep, moist, loam soils, and possessed 
of that degree of admixture of clay and sand which 
keeps them in a friable condition. But the exact soil 
conditions best adapted to the growth of each are 
not exactly the same. Clay soils, for instance, may 
be made to produce good crops of mangels, but not 
of turnips, and the proportion of sand in the soil 
that would aid in furnishing high adaptation to the 
growth of carrots would be excessive for the best 
results in growing mangels. Heavy clays are not 



198 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

well adapted to the growth of any kind of field roots 
for soiling uses, since the labor in preparing them for 
the seed is usually over-much, and the plants grow 
slowly in them. On the other hand, infertile sands 
do not produce enough growth. Black loam soils, 
such as abound on the prairie, have high adaptation, 
but they are apt to be much infested with weeds. 
Slough and swamp soils will produce large quanti- 
ties of such food after they have been drained, but 
in them the growth of top is relatively greater than 
in other soils. Peat soils, until reduced, are usually 
not good root-producing soils. But the gray sands 
of the Rocky mountain valleys will produce field 
roots abundantly when supplied with water. 

Place in the Rotation. — Field roots should 
always be grown as a cleaning crop, whether grown 
for the roots only or for the roots and tops ; in other 
words, whether they are grown for winter feeding 
or for summer and autumn feeding. But when 
grown for the last named use, they cannot, for vari- 
ous reasons, be made so complete a cleaning crop for 
the land, unless they are the only crop grown on 
the same during that season. The natural place for 
field roots, therefore, is after grain crops and on 
soils that need renovation, not only in the sense of 
being cleaned, but also in that of being fertilized. 

These crops take much fertility out of the land 
and therefore cannot be successfully grown on 
depleted soils, unless these soils have first been 
enriched. But it is a very propitious time to enrich 
lands when root crops are to be grown upon them, 
since, owing to the cleaning given to the soil, the 
crops which follow are enabled to feed upon the 



FIELD ROOTS. 1 99 

unused increment in the manure rather than weeds. 
Grain crops naturally follow root crops, and where 
clovers and grasses grow well, these are usually- 
sown at the same time as the grain, singly or in 
various combinations. But field roots, more espe- 
cially turnips, may frequently be grown as a catch 
crop. For instance, a good crop of turnips may 
frequently be produced after the removal of the first 
cutting of the clover. The clover roots furnish very 
suitable food for the turnips. 

Preparing the Soil. — If the roots are to be 
grown for winter feeding, the soil may be plowed in 
the fall or spring, according to the climatic condi- 
tions and the kind of the crop. When the winters 
are open and accompanied by considerable rainfall, 
spring plowing will be the best. But where the 
ground remains frozen from autumn until spring, 
autumn plowing will be the best. The condition of 
heavy soils may in some instances be improved by 
plowing both in the autumn and in the spring. 

The aim should be to secure a clean, fine and 
moist condition of the land, as the seeds will not 
germinate in cloddy surfaces with but scant mois- 
ture. The more free from weed seeds the soil can 
be made before sowing the seed, the less will be the 
labor of tending the crop while it is growing. There 
is no time for sprouting weed seeds after spring 
opens in growing a crop of carrots, since they must 
be planted early. Nor is there time for the same 
when any of these plants are grown as a catch crop. 
But in growing mangels and sugar beets as the sole 
crop for the season, there is time for at least a partial 
sprouting of the weeds. There is more time for 



200 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

this in growing rutabagas because of the late plant- 
ing season, and still more time in growing turnips, 
since the turnips are planted later than the rutabagas. 

Farmyard manure is excellent for such crops. 
Where the land is plowed in the fall, the manure 
should be applied before the plowing is done, except 
when the soils are leachy. The manure should then 
be spread on the surface after the land is plowed. 
It may also be spread on the land in autumn or win- 
ter when it is to be plowed in the spring. When 
thus applied in the fresh form in the autumn it 
becomes incorporated in the soil by the cultivation 
given to the land before sowing the seed. But unre- 
duced manure should not be thus applied in climates 
over-dry. Complete commercial fertilizers are the 
best for the production of field roots. They require 
a liberal feeding of phosphates, hence finely ground 
bones have been found specially helpful in the pro- 
duction of field roots. 

Sowing. — In localities with ample moisture it is 
considered preferable to sow the seed of all kinds 
of field roots in raised drills when grow^n as food for 
live stock. But where m.oisture is not abundant in 
the growing season, it is deemed preferable to sow 
the seed in unraised rows, as the needed moisture 
escapes more readily from the former. But when 
sown in raised drills the cultivation given may begin 
somewhat earlier and the hand hoeing is more easily 
done. The raised drills can be more quickly made 
by using a double mold-board plow and a marker. 
The distance between them will vary with the kind of 
roots grown and with other conditions, but usually 
it is not less than twenty, or more than thirty inches. 



FIELD ROOTS. 20I 

The seed is commonly sown in the raised drills 
with a machine which deposits the seed in two rows 
at a time. This machine is drawn by one horse and 
is furnished with two rollers, each of which fits 
down over one raised drill and impacts it in advance 
of the drill spouts, and also with a light roller which 
runs behind. In some instances it will prove advan- 
tageous to run a heavy land roller over the drills 
before and after sowing the seed. When the weather is 
dry, the more closely the seed drill is made to follow 
the drill plow the surer will the germination be. 
When sown in rows on the level, the ground may 
first be marked out by some kind of marker and 
sown with a hand drill when the area is not large. 
But when the area is extensive, the seed should be 
sown by seed drills adapted to such work. Some 
kinds of grain drills will sow seeds thus small. With 
other drills it is necessar}^ to mix the seed with some 
more bulky substance, as salt or road dust, before 
using it. But whatever the mode of sowing adopted, 
the straighter and more uniform the rows the more 
easily and perfectly can the cultivation be done. 

The variety that should be sown will vary with 
localities and can only be determined by actual test. 
The most popular variety of turnips at the present 
time, especially in the northern and northwestern 
states, is the Purple Top Strap Leaf. The favorite 
variety of mangels in the same is the Mammoth 
Long Red. As rutabagas, sugar beets and carrots 
are seldom grown as soiling food, it is scarcely neces- 
sary to add more on the subject of varieties. But 
in passing, it may be mentioned that much soiling 
food per acre may be obtained from some of the half 



202 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

long varieties of carrots and without great labor 
when they can be sown on clean land. Such carrots 
are easily lifted. 

The same amounts of seed may be sown 
whether the roots are used for soiling food or for 
winter feeding. These amounts will vary with the 
variety, the soil, the condition of the same and with 
the climate and weather at the time of sowing. But 
the following may be named as approximately rep- 
resenting the maximum and minimum quantities of 
seed to be grown per acre of the different species of 
field roots that are being considered when grown as 
food for domestic animals : Rutabagas and turnips, 
two to four pounds; mangels and sugar beets, four 
to six pounds ; carrots, two to four pounds. 

The time for sowing the seed will vary accord- 
ing to the varieties and other conditions. Carrots 
should be sown as a rule early in the season, mangels 
and sugar beets a little later. Rutabagas are usually 
sown two or three weeks later than the normal 
season of corn planting, and turnips still later than 
rutabagas. The last named crop will frequently 
attain a maximum of growth in ninety days. Car- 
rots, on the other hand, require much of the growing 
season to complete their growth, and in many cli- 
mates all of it. 

Cultivation. — As soon as the plants have 
become far enough advanced to distinctly mark the 
line of the row, the cultivation should begin. Horse 
cultivation is usually given first. It should, of 
course, be shallow and should come as close to the 
line of the row as possible without giving disturb- 
ance to the plants. The remaining weeds should 



FIELD ROOTS. 2O3 

then be cut out on both sides of the row with tHe 
hand hoe and without waiting to thin the plants. 
If the hand hoeing thus given is carefully done, it 
may not be necessary to bestow upon the crop any 
more hand labor until it is ready for being fed. If 
the plants are thinned as when they are grown for 
winter feeding, the proper distance at which to thin 
them will vary with circumstances. The following 
may be given as the maximum distance at which 
the plants of the various species may be thinned: 
rutabagas and turnips, twelve inches; mangels, 
twelve inches ; sugar beets, nine inches ; and carrots, 
eight inches. The average distance to leave between 
the plants is about two-thirds of the distance named 
as the maximum. It is seldom necessary, how- 
ever, to thin the plants when they are grown 
as soiling food. 

The horse cultivation given should be frequent 
and should continue until the leaves of the plants 
come together or nearly together between the rows. 

Feeding. — The feeding of field roots is a very 
simple but somewhat tedious process. They are 
pulled up by hand and laid in piles, or thrown directly 
into a hand barrow, or some form of wagon or truck 
drawn by horses. Field roots should only be thrown 
in piles for future drawing when it is not convenient 
at the time to have the means of conveyance at hand, 
or when there may be opportunity to lift the plants 
a few days in advance of the feeding. This may be 
done in late autumn without serious injury to the 
plants, but not when the weather is warm. The 
roots are of course handled with forks after they 
have been lifted. 



204 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

They may be fed in a pasture or paddock with 
much advantage when the surface is well sodded and 
the ground is in consequence clean. They may also 
be fed in the cattle manger or pig trough, but when 
so fed some watchfulness is necessary in cleaning out 
the loose earth from both manger and trough, that 
drops off the plants. 

The feeding of the crop may begin at any time 
after the roots have made a growth somewhat ad- 
vanced. If the feeding begins too early, there will 
be a loss of nutriment from want of advancement in 
the growth of the crop. If such food is fed in excess 
and more especially at the first, it will induce scouring 
in the animals so fed. It should only be given to 
cows in milk after the milk has been withdrawn to 
avoid taint in the milk. 

These crops can probably be fed with more 
relative advantage to such animals as calves, sheep 
and lambs and swine, than to matured cattle. The 
former consume so much less per animal than the 
latter that it is more practicable to feed roots to them. 
As a food factor in feeding growing swine and brood 
sows, they are peculiarly helpful, more especially 
when the root portion, that is to say, the edible part of 
the root, has made large development. But in no 
case should such food be made the sole factor in 
feeding any kind of live stock. 



CHAPTER XL 



MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 



The plants discussed in the previous chapters 
can all be made to furnish soiling- food in some sec- 
tions of the United States with more or less profit. 
In addition to these are other plants, possessed of 
more or less adaptability in providing such food, but 
their exact value for this use has not been determined. 
The number of these is not very large at the present 
time, but it will doubtless be increased as the years 
move on. These plants will now be briefly discussed. 
The following includes those which have been con- 
sidered as possessed of sufficient promise to merit a 
place in the discussion ; viz. : White or Dutch clover, 
sweet clover, Japan clover, sainfoin, trefoil, the horse 
bean, the velvet bean, kale, the sand vetch, the flat 
pea, white mustard, the lupine, spurry, the artichoke, 
prickly comfrey and sunflower. Some of these 
plants will doubtless be found possessed of no little 
value in providing soiling food when they come 
to be better understood. Something will also be 
said of sacaline, the plant whose merits have been so 
overdrawn by some seedsmen and others interested 
in selling it. 

White Clover. — White clover (Trifolium 
repens), sometimes called Dutch clover is so well 
known that it is not necessary to give any detailed 
description of it. It is native to both Europe and 

205 



206 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

America. It is already distributed more or less 
OA'er nearly all the cultivated portions of the northern 
and central states, and in many sections of the south- 
ern states it has also been successfully introduced. 
It would seem to have the highest adaptation for clay 
loam soils which were formerly covered with forests 
of hard w^ood trees, or of hard and soft woods grow- 
ing together. When these were cleared away it 
seemed to come in, as it were, spontaneously, but 
never to the extent of becoming a hindrance to culti-^ 
vation. The ordinar}^ black loam soils of the prairie 
are not so well adapted to its growth, although it 
may be grown on these with more or less of success. 
The soils of the Rocky mountain valleys would seem 
to have supreme adaptation for growing this plant 
when supplied with sufficient moisture, and the same 
is true of the arable lands west of the Cascade moun- 
tains. 

White clover is probably the hardiest of all the 
species of clover, hence it can be grown far to the 
north. As is generally known white clover is com- 
monly grown for pasture and usually in conjunction 
with blue grass. Where it has been grown in rota- 
tions that do not cover many seasons, it does not 
ordinarily require to be sown again when laying 
dow^n pastures, as in these the plants will soon appear 
and sometimes to the extent of forming one of the 
chief food elements. The plants not only produce 
others from seed, but also by means of runners which 
at intervals send down roots into the soil and form 
fresh plants. But when it is to be grown as a factor 
of a hay crop it ought to be sown along with the 
other seeds that are designed to furnish the hay, 



MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 207 

otherwise it is not likely to furnish any considerable 
proportion of the same the first season. 

Because of the relative lack of bulk in the crop, 
it is seldom sown by itself for the express purpose of 
providing soiling food, nor is it often sown in con- 
junction with other *clovers or grasses for such a 
purpose. Nevertheless there may be instances when 
it would be eminently wise to sow it in conjunction 
with common red, or alsike clover, when it is to be 
cut for soiling food. It adds to the fineness of the 
food and also to its bulk. It matures a little later 
than medium red clover, hence there is probably some 
advantage from sowing it with the alsike. But it 
should never be sown to provide soiling food, except 
under conditions of marked adaptation for growing 
it successfully. When thus sown not more than one 
or two pounds of seed are required per acre, as the 
seeds are quite small relatively. The quantity of the 
seed of the other kind soAvn should also be reduced 
by about twice the quantity of the white clover added 
to the other seed sown. 

Sweet Clover. — Sweet clover (Melilotus alba) 
sometimes called Bokhara clover, is branching in its 
habit of growth, and it is of wide distribution. No 
plant of the clover family will grow over so wide an 
area and under conditions so unpromising. The 
heat of summer and the cold of winter would seem 
to be alike unable to kill it. While it can be grown 
on the stiffest clays, it will also grow and thrive on 
sandy soils so light that the winds will carry them, 
and so lacking in plant food as to be quite bare of 
grass during all the year. It will also flourish in 
regions so dry as to forbid the successful growth of 



208 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

other clovers in the absence of irrigation. And more- 
over, it is a plant that not only fills the soil w^ith a 
mass of strong roots v^hich penetrate the same in 
various directions and v^hich go down deeply into the 
subsoil to gather food, but it has also much power 
to gather nitrogen from the air and to deposit the 
same in the subsoil. 

Notwithstanding the great powders of growth 
with wdiich sweet clover is endowed, it has been but 
little cultivated as yet to provide food for domestic 
animals. The odor of this plant is highly fragrant, 
but the stalks and buds possess a bitterness of taste 
which seems, to a considerable extent at least, to 
detract from its palatability. The stems also become 
wood}" at a comparatively early stage of development. 

Heretofore sweet clover has been chiefly grown 
in America to provide food for bees, but in some 
instances it has been sown to hinder the washing 
down of the earth from embankments, which wall in 
the cuttings made in buildmg railroads. More com- 
monly it is found growing in vagrant fashion along 
the roadsides and in waste places, where it is main- 
tained through self seeding. Because of this vagrant 
habit of growth, sweet clover has been proscribed as 
a weed pest by the laws of several states. 

It would seem too bad to allow a plant possessed 
of so many redeeming qualities to be forever treated 
as a fugitive. The author cannot but feel hopeful 
that some time in the future when the seed becomes 
more plentiful and consequently cheaper, sweet clover 
will be sown on wide areas in the semi-arid belt 
along with small grain such as wheat, oats and 
barley, to help to sustain fertility and to increase the 



MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 2O9 

content of moisture in the soil by means 
of the increase in humus which it brings 
to the soil. This can be done by sow- 
ing the sweet clover at the same time that the 
grain is sown in the spring and by plowing the crop 
under the following spring after it has made a vigor- 
ous growth and in time to plant corn or sorghum. 

Whether sweet clover can be made to furnish 
green food for live stock in the summer season is 
problematical. No class of domestic animals is fond 
of it, but taste in animals, as in individuals, is largely 
the outcome of habit. May it not be possible, there- 
fore, so to develop in these a relish for this plant 
which would justify growing it to feed to them as 
soiling, food ? In sections where the other clovers 
will grow, it would probably be a waste of time to 
try experiments of such a character, but in other 
localities it may be eminently proper to conduct them. 
This plant is sometimes made into hay which is con- 
sumed on the farm. Why then should it be looked 
upon as a waste of time under all conditions to 
experiment in feeding sweet clover as a soiling food ? 

Japan Clover. — Japan clover {Lespedeza 
striata) has been grown in some of the southern 
states for several years. Little or nothing has been 
published regarding its behavior in the northern 
states. But in such of the latter as produce the 
leading sorts of clover in good form, it is pretty 
certain that it would not be profitable to grow so 
diminutive a plant as Japan clover, even though it 
should be able to withstand the rigors of the winter 
climate. That it can withstand those rigors is not 
probable, since notwithstanding the number of years 
14. 



2IO SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

during which it has been grown in the southern states 
no one apparently is growing it in the northern 
states. 

Japan clover is a low growing plant which 
seldom exceeds the hight of sixteen inches. It is an 
annual, but when not grazed down too closely or cut 
too early it has much power to reseed itself. Since 
it grows readily on hard surfaces, this property may 
be turned to good account. It is considerably 
branched and has a blue flower. It may be grown 
on dry soils, but will of course make a more vigorous 
growth on good loam soils. On the former it only 
attains the hight of a few inches, and is used as pas- 
ture. On the more productive soils it is grown for 
hay. From twelve to fifteen pounds of seed are sown 
per acre. 

Where Japan clover furnishes sufficient bulk to 
justify growing it for hay, it may also be grown as 
soiling food. It will not of course produce nearly so 
much food per acre as the sorghums, either saccharine 
or non-saccharine, but it may be grown on soils 
where these would not produce abundantly without 
being fertilized. And it may also be grown with 
much less outlay for labor. 

Sainfoin. — Sainfoin (Onohrychis sativa) is a 
plant that grows rapidly and vigorously under suit- 
able conditions. It is sometimes called Aspersette or 
Esparsette. It is a legume of the clover family, 
and is much branched and spreading in its habit 
of growth. The flowers are of a beautiful crimson 
tint and it seeds profusely under favorable con- 
ditions. In some parts of Europe, notably in the 
south of England and in France, it has long been 



MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 211 

grown to provide pasture for sheep and green food 
for horses and cattle. It has special adaptation for 
dry calcareous soils. 

Sainfoin bears no little resemblance to alfalfa 
in its habit of growth. Like alfalfa it will pro- 
vide two or more cuttings of soiling food or 
of hay in a single season, and when established 
will retain its hold upon the soil for a number of 
years, though not for so long a period as alfalfa. 
The same care is also required in making it into 
hay, or many of the leaves will be lost while it is 
thus being cured. Because of its early and quick 
growth it is ready for being cut earlier than red 
clover. It is thought to be adapted to conditions 
more dry than would be suited to growing alfalfa 
in the absence of irrigation. It is rather adapted to 
mild than to cold climates. 

But little can be gleaned from the reports of the 
agricultural experiment stations with reference to 
the growth of sainfoin. It would almost seem as 
though it had entirely escaped the attention of experi- 
menters in this country, and yet there is likely to be 
a place for it in our agriculture as a pasture and also 
as a soiling crop. It is claimed that when pasturing 
it there is no danger from hoven or bloat as when 
pasturing alfalfa, or red clover. 

Sainfoin has been grown with much success in 
the neighborhood of Deer Lodge, Mont., and it is 
not improbable that it can be grown with equal 
success in nearly all the Rocky mountain valleys 
northward from Montana and also between the 
coast range and the Pacific. The seed is frequently 
sown while yet in the sac, and when thus sown from 



212 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

four to five bushels of seed are used per acre. Much 
care is necessary in saving the seed, as it shatters 
out easily and it also heats readily when stored. 
The loss in germinating power in the seed when 
it is thus managed is responsible for many failures 
in growing this crop. 

Trefoil. — Trefoil (Medicago htpulina) some- 
times called yellow clover is of several varieties. 
There are but few places in America in which it 
has come markedly into favor. Like white clover 
{Trifoliuin rcpens)it is of wide distribution, but 
the localities are still very numerous in this country 
in which trefoil has not been tried. It has much 
affinity for limestone soils when once introduced 
into these. So persistent is it oftentim.es in its 
habit of growth that it is in a sense troublesome 
where growing crops are to be cultivated. 

Trefoil is recumbent in its habit of growth, and 
in many localities it is a diminutive plant, but in 
congenial soils it attains a considerable size. It is 
more commonly grown along with various other 
plants in pastures that are intended to be permanent 
in character. Its ability to maintain itself in these 
helps to increase its value as a pasture plant. Be- 
cause of want of bulk in the growth produced, tre- 
foil is not likely to become popular as a hay plant or 
as a soiling food. But doubtless there are areas 
in the United States and in Canada where it would 
pay to sow more or less of the seed of trefoil along 
with other clover seed that is sown to furnish soil- 
ing food. When thus grown it would add to the 
bulk and to the fineness of the growth in the crop. 
It may yet be sown on the western slopes of Oregon 



MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 21,3 

and Washington between the mountains and the 
sea. 

The Horse Bean.— Th^ horse bean (Vicia faba) 
is doubtless so named from the extent to which it can 
be used in feeding horses in countries where its 
growth has been found profitable. It is sometimes 
called the Scotch bean, from the extent to which it 
is grown in that country even almost to the ex- 
clusion of all other sorts of the bean family. The 
damp and temperate clim.ate of Great Britain and 
especially of Scotland has peculiar adaptation for 
the growth of the horse bean. It is a hardy and 
vigorous grower. The plants sometimes attain a 
higfht of four feet and CAxn a greater hight. The 
pods are numerous and contain from three to five 
beans of a large size. The average yield per acre 
in Scotland is not far from thirty bushels. 

The Scotch bean has been found to furnish an 
excellent food for horses and other domestic animals. 
It is best adapted to strong loam soils of good drain- 
age. It is usual to grow the beans in rows twenty- 
four to thirty-six inches distant from one another, 
and to cultivate the crop as other beans are culti- 
vated. The aim is to have the beans about two inches 
apart in the row. To grow them thus would require 
from two to three bushels of seed to the acre. 

The horse bean has not been much tried under 
American conditions. It has been grown to a con- 
siderable extent however by dairymen in the vicinity 
of Montreal, Can. In the more dry climate of 
western Ontario, however, the crop has not proved 
a success. The author has not been able to secure 
a good growth of straw^ or of leaves in western 



214 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

Ontario or in Minnesota, but has seen plants growing 
vigorously in the Puget Sound country in Washing- 
ton. Wherever the summer temperatures run high, 
the horse bean will not succeed. In this fact we 
have the explanation of the greater success which 
attends its growth in Scotland than in the south of 
England or in Ireland. 

In North America the climatic conditions best 
adapted to the growth of this plant will probably 
be found in the New England states, in the Mari- 
time provinces of Canada, and in the country bor- 
dering on the Pacific north from Portland, Ore., 
and west of the most northerly range of the Rocky 
mountains. In those areas this plant should cer- 
tainly be tried as a soiling crop. In growing it 
some large variety of peas sown along with the 
beans would probably add to the bulk of the fodder 
without lessening the quality of the same. 

The Velvet Bean. — The velvet bean (Mucuna 
utilis) is a vine-like plant which has been grown for 
several years past in some sections of the Gulf 
states as a trellis shade. During recent years it has 
come to be regarded with more or less favor as a 
food for live stock, as a mulch for orchards, and 
as a means of fertilizing and otherwise improving 
them where the land can be tilled. While it is not 
considered suitable for providing pasture, it is 
favorably spoken of as a soiling food, and the hay is 
said to be superior to that made from cowpeas, since 
it is less coarse in character. The seeds are very 
rich in protein, and both vines and grain are said 
to be much relished by live stock. It has been given 
very high praise as a source of fertility, owing to 



MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 215 

the great power which it is said to possess of draw- 
ing nitrogen from the air. 

When grown as a food crop the velvet bean 
sends out runners in every direction as watermelons 
do, and the vines thus thrown out are frequently 
ten to twenty feet long. They eventually cover the 
ground with a rank mass of vegetation fifteen to 
twenty inches deep. The seeds should not be planted 
nearer to fruit trees of a dwarfish habit of growth 
than five or six feet, lest trouble should arise from 
the vines climbing up into the trees and extending 
around the branches. It begins to fruit not far from 
the root of the plant, and pods appear in clusters at 
intervals all along the length of the vine. These 
pods are brown and velvety in character, hence 
probably the name, velvet bean. It has been affirmed 
that the yield of seed on average soils is from twenty 
to thirty bushels per acre. 

Because of the dense shade which the velvet 
bean produces, it has been found valuable in smoth- 
ering various kinds of noxious weeds and grasses, 
particularly Bermuda grass (Cynodon Dactyl on) 
and nut grass (Cy penis rotundus). The dense cov- 
ering which it furnishes to the ground retards in a 
marked degree the escape of moisture. In dry 
weather therefore the service thus rendered is in- 
valuable to orchards. 

The velvet bean is commonly planted in rows. 
Five feet has been named as a suitable distance 
between them. From three to five beans are planted 
in hills at short intervals along the line of the row. 
The seed should be planted early in the season but 
not until the weather has become warm. The 



2l6 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

cultivation given is the same as for other beans until 
the runners extend so far that it cannot be longer 
continued. 

It has been claimed that the velvet bean can 
be successfully grown when all the conditions are 
quite favorable to the growth of Indian corn, but 
this claim is probably extravagant since even in 
Louisiana the plants do not always mature all the 
seed produced. It is questionable if the velvet bean 
in its present form can be made to render substantial 
benefits to agriculture as far north as the fortieth 
parallel of latitude. That it will be greatly helpful 
to the farmers of the Gult states is more tlian prob- 
able, but rather as a soil cleaner and a soil renovator 
than in producing soiling food. Owing to the 
vine-like habit of growth which it possesses it 
is likely to prove somewhat difficult to harvest. 
It will not be easy to cut the vines cleanly, 
and it will be more difficult still to handle them 
when cut. 

Kale. — Kale (Brassica oleracea) is of the same 
species of plants as cabbage. In fact, kale may be 
said to mean any variety of headless cabbage with 
curled or crinkled leaves. And yet, paradoxical as 
it may seem, there is a variety of kale grown in Great 
Britain popularly spoken of as the "thousand-headed 
kale." It is so called from the many miniature heads 
which it produces on its numerous branches. It is 
much prized by flockmasters as a food for lambs. 
Some varieties of kale are very attractive in color 
and also in the crinkled character of the leaves. In 
the United States kale has been chiefly grown here- 
tofore in gardens for its leaves which are boiled as 



MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 217 

potherbs. Thousands of acres are grown annually 
but chiefly for culinary uses. 

The author has not been able to obtain any in- 
formation with reference to growing it for pasture 
from an American source other than what has been 
furnished by the Minnesota University Experiment 
station. The experiments there conducted have 
sustained the view that kale has much of adaptation 
for our conditions, but not more probably than 
Dwarf Essex rape. When sown early in the season 
at the aforementioned station, the plants reached a 
maximum of growth by early midsummer, and when 
not fed soon after reaching that stage of develop- 
ment, not a few of the leaves shrank and withered, 
but not to the same extent as dwarf essex rape leaves 
grown under similar conditions. When sown later, 
the plants retained their greenness and freshness imtil 
the closing in of winter. The growth was on the 
w^hole not quite so rapid as the growth of rape, but 
the pasture furnished was equally relished with rape 
pastvire. 

There is but little doubt that kale can be grown 
with more or less success in the climate of the 
United States wherever rape can be grown in good 
form. It would also seem to be equally probable 
that it will furnish soiling food that may be fed in 
the same way as rape. So far as tried in this country, 
kale does not seem to have any advantage over rape 
as a food plant, that would justify discarding the 
latter and growing the former in its stead. 

The Sand Vetch. — The sand vetch {Vicia vil- 
losa) is being tested by several of the experiment sta- 
tions, more especially by those in the southern states. 



2l8 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

It has also been tested in a limited way by individual 
farmers. Some who have tested this plant speak en- 
couragingly of its value as a hay crop. In the judg- 
ment of the Author its highest use as a food plant 
for stock will be found in the pasture which it 
furnishes, and this opinion is based on the results ob- 
tained from growing it in various w^ays at the 
Minnesota University Experiment station. 

It is an annual but should be sown in the autumn 
rather than the spring in climates where it will sur- 
vive the winter, but when sown in the spring a good 
growth is frequently made. The plants grow but 
slowly for a time, but when once firmly rooted run- 
ners are thrown out in ail directions and the ground 
is covered with a dense mass of vegetation. But 
the runners become so intertwined that it is almost 
impossible to cut them or to pull them apart when 
cut. Because of this the sand vetch is not likely to 
become popular as soiling food when sown alone. 
But if sown as a mixed crop, as with oats or some 
other kind of grain, the grain acts in a considerable 
degree as a support to the tendrils of vetch. When 
thus grown, the mixed crop may be cut without much 
difficulty and used as soiling food or as hay. 

When sown in the spring and thus used the 
plants make much aftergrowth which may be pas- 
tured until the advent of winter by sheep or cattle. 
When sown alone not less than four pecks of seed 
should be used, but when sown with another crop the 
amount of the vetch seed to use should be decreased 
proportionately as the seed of the other crop is used. 
The relatively dear price of the seed in the past has 
hindered the extensive growth of this plant. 



220 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

The sand vetch will probably survive the winter 
except in situations much exposed north of the forty- 
third parallel, and in certain areas it will probably 
live one or two degrees further to the north. It has 
always perished in the winter in th^ trials made at 
the Minnesota University Experiment farm, but on 
the Pacific coast it ought to succeed as far north as 
Alaska. East of the Rocky mountains it is not likely 
to prove of much value to the agriculture of Canada. 

As the name implies, the sand vetch has much 
power to grow on sandy soils, and soils low in fer- 
tility. Its highest use will probably be found in 
enriching such lands since it is a legume. Its next 
highest value will probably be found in the pasture 
which it furnishes, more especially in southern lati- 
tudes. But it will also be grown more or less for 
soiling food and for hay and more especially in con- 
junction with some other crop. 

The Flat Pea. — The flat pea (Lathyrus sylves- 
tris), although tried more or less fully by not a few 
of the agricultural experiment stations in the United 
States, has not come into much favor. Some of the 
experimenters pronounce against it and others 
speak discouragingly with reference to it. No one 
who has tried this plant in America is enthusiastic 
over it. In no instances have more than two good 
cuttings been reported per year. 

The flat pea is a perennial. It is partly upright 
and partly vine-like in its habit of growth. The 
stems intertwine considerably but not so much as 
do those of the sand vetch (Vicia villosa). The 
plants bear no little resemblance to those of the grass 
pea, but are considerablv larger and coarser. Thev 



MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 221 

are slow in becoming established, but in soils adapted 
to their growth they will live for many years, 
although American experience has not yet determined 
how many, unless in states where the winters are too 
cold for growing it successfully. Though it stands 
the winters of southern Ontario it cannot be de- 
pended upon to endure those of northern Minnesota. 

The seed is more commonly sown in rows from 
thirty to thirt3^-six inches apart, and in sowing the 
same the aim is to have the plants only a few inches 
apart in the row. The seed germinates slowly. 
When this fact is linked with the slow growth the 
plants make the first season, the necessity for clean 
cultivation during that period of the development 
will be apparent. The plants gradually extend so 
as to occupy all the ground. In some areas they 
produce seed but shyly, more especially where the 
rainfall is abundant and the growth of the crop is 
vigorous. 

That the flat pea will ever be extensively grown 
as a producer of soiling food in the northern states 
and in the middle states east of the Mississippi river 
is at least problematical, and for the following 
reasons: — i. The plants do not usually produce 
a full crop until the third year from the time of 
planting, and the seed is likely to be dear for several 
years to come; 2, other crops can be grown 
more easily, that are quite as productive of forage, 
that are more easily handled and that are more 
highly relished by live stock; 3, the lack of 
palatability which experimenters complain of will 
tell against the introduction of the plant, but this 
may be overcome in part at least by persistent 



222 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

feeding for a period more or less prolonged; 4, 
the plants are not easily harvested owing to the in- 
tertwining habit of growth in the tendrils. Never- 
theless it would not be prudent to claim that there 
is no place for the flat pea in our agriculture. It 
may yet be grown to provide soiling food or pasture 
in the south and also in the far west. The sands of 
the semi-arid country may yet be made to produce 
this crop where, in the absence of irrigation, they 
will not produce much else. It is at least worthy of 
further trial in the volcanic soils of the western 
mountain plateaus. 

White Mustard. — White mustard (Sinapis 
alba) is grown more or less as a food for live stock 
in many of the countries of Europe. Heretofore 
it has been grown chiefly in gardens, only, in 
America. But in this country, as in Europe, it may 
doubtless be turned to good account in furnishing 
food for live stock. But when so fed it should be 
as a part of a ration rather than as the whole. When 
thus fed in proper combinations, it acts as a corrector 
of digestion. When fed with rape, for instance, it 
lessens the danger from bloating. When grown 
as a green food therefore it should be along with 
some such crop as rape, and the two plants can be 
cut and fed together. But there is a higher value 
from growing white mustard along with rape which 
is to be pastured off. When thus grown the tops of 
the mustard plants being taller than those of the 
rape are likely to be eaten first, so that the danger of 
bloating is thereby lessened. Mustard is not suffi- 
ciently nutritious to rely upon it as the sole food 
fed for any prolonged period. Since it is a quick 



MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 223 

growing plant, it will in time come more or less into 
favor as a crop to grow for plowing under, but not 
until the price of seed falls lower than it has been in 
the past. 

White mustard may be sown any time after 
the danger of spring frost is past. And the crop 
should be fed or plowed under before the frosts of 
autumn blight it. Since it grows rapidly it may be 
grown as a catch crop and in various ways. A few 
pounds of seed will suffice to sow an acre when the 
mustard is the sole occupant of the land, and when 
sown along with another crop as rape, or kale, the 
proportion of the mustard seed should not be more 
than one- fourth or one-fifth of the whole. Although 
mustard will grow vigorously on almost any kind of 
soil possessed of a fair amount of plant food, and 
although it will make considerable growth, even on 
soils low in fertility, it has a peculiar affinity for 
loam soils abounding in lime. It grows so rapidly 
that under some conditions it will be in full bloom 
in six weeks from the date of sowing. It should 
be fed rather before than at the blossoming stage, 
since the stalks quickly become woody. It is prob- 
able that mustard fed in large quantities to cows in 
milk would impart something of a pungent taste to 
the milk. When plowed under the plants should 
not be allowed to get beyond the blooming stage.' 

There is no danger as with black or brown 
mustard that the seeds will remain in the soil and 
thus make trouble. White mustard may be dis- 
tinguished from the black or brown by the rough 
hairs which cover the stems of the white kind, and 
by the -peculiar shape of the pods which terminate 



224 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

in a broad two edged shaped beak. The seeds are 
larger than those of black mustard and are white 
externally. 

The Lupine. — The lupine is of many species 
and is native to both the old and new worlds. Some 
of the sorts are domesticated, others of them still 
grow wild. The white lupine (Lupimis alhus) is 
probably the most valuable among the cultivated 
species. It is an annual. The lupine derives its 
name from lupus, a wolf, and because of its vora- 
cious qualities. The long tap roots of the white 
lupine go down deeply into the soil and there they 
gather plant food, much of which is deposited in 
the surface soil. It also produces a very consider- 
able quantity of vegetable matter the decay of which 
adds fertility to the soil. 

The cultivation of the white lupine in Portu- 
gal has been the means of restoring vast tracts of 
worn out soils. It has also been much grown in 
Germany to increase the producing power of 
sandy tracts low in fertility. In Italy, Sicily and 
other Mediterranean countries it is extensively cul- 
tivated for forage, as green manure and also for 
the seeds. 

The attempts made by the author to grow the 
lupine at the Minnesota University Experiment 
station have, not been successful. The plants 
made but little growth, and yet it is almost certain 
that there are extensive areas in the United 
States in which the growth of the lupine would 
be eminently successful and helpful to the cause 
of agriculture. These can only be determined by 
experiment. 



MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 225 

Spurry. — Spurry (Spergula arvensis) is a 
quick growing plant which may be raised success- 
fully on lands too light and hungry to produce good 
crops of clover even where the climatic conditions 
are suitable. It has special adaptation for the light 
soils of Great Britain and in Denmark, Holland, 
Belgium and some parts of Germany and Russia it 
is extensively grown as pasture for cattle and sheep. 
It is also grown as soiling food, as fodder and as 
green manure. 

Spurry is a little plant with innumerable 
branches and foliage very fine in character. It 
seldom growls to a greater hight than twenty inches, 
and the average hight is considerably less. The 
plants have some resemblance to those of flax and 
the same is true of the seeds. The blossoms are 
white and are very tiny. The stems interlace some- 
what so that one is apt to trip in walking through 
a field of spurry in an advanced stage of growth. It 
is frequently ready for being pastured or cut as soil- 
ing food in from six to eight weeks from the date of 
sowing the seed. 

The attempts made at the Minnesota Uni- 
versity experiment farm to grow spurry have not 
met with much success. Those made on the light 
sandy soils at Grayling, Mich., have been more 
successful. The highest success in growing the 
plant in the United States will probably be attained 
on light sandy soils and under climatic conditions 
which furnish ample moisture. Whether it will 
ever be grown at all extensively in this country, in 
providing soiling food, cannot now be predicted with 
certaint}^ But it is highly probable that it will be 



226 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

made to render more effective service by growing 
it as a pasture or as a green manure. 

The Artichoke. — The Jerusalem artichoke 
(Helianthus tuberosus) has been mentioned as pos- 
sessed of some value in providing soiling food and 
forage, but the stalks are too large and woody to 
meet the requirements of a good soiling or forage 
crop. Cattle will doubtless consume the outer por- 
tions of the stems and branches and may in time 
become fond of them, but they are unable to con- 
sume the coarse woody stems. And there is the fur- 
ther objection that the stalks are difficult to handle. 

This plant however may be turned to excellent 
account in providing forage for swine or winter 
food for other classes of live stock. When con- 
sumed by swine they feed upon the tubers where 
they grew. The artichokes are thus eaten in the 
autumn and winter and even in the spring where 
the climate does not forbid the same. The plants 
will render higher service in- thus providing food in 
areas favored with mild climates, but they may be 
successfully grown in some part or parts of every 
state in the Union and of every province in Canada. 
There are several varieties. The Brazilian is the 
most commonly grown but the French Improved 
will give larger yields when grown on congenial 
soil. 

Prickly Comfrey. — Prickly comfrey (Symp- 
hytum officinale) has been grown successfully as a 
soiling food in Great Britain and other countries of 
Europe for many 3^ears. Some experiments have 
been made in growing it in the United States, but 
the reports from these are conflicting. These 




< 

1 



228 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

reports agree first in regard to the productiveness of 
the plants, and second in regard to the abihty of the 
same to grow on hght lands not possessed of high 
fertility. They also agree in speaking of the little 
relish which live stock manifest for prickly comfrey 
when it is first fed to them. But they do not agree 
as to its value for soiling uses. When fed to live 
stock at the Ontario agricultural college farm, the 
live stock did not manifest any fondness for it. 
Some other experiment stations have reported simi- 
larly. It may be that domestic animals may be edu- 
cated to eat it, so that ultimately they will manifest 
a fondness for it. Were it otherwise there would 
seem to b^ no good reasons for growing it to the 
considerable extent to which it is grown in several 
of the countries of Europe. 

Prickly comfrey is a large leaved plant which 
grows to the hight of three or four feet. The 
leaves are long and narrow, and mucilaginous in 
character. The leaves only are eaten. Enormous 
crops can be grown. This plant is propagated by 
means of the roots and in about the same manner as 
rhubarb, that is to say, pie plant. The roots are 
fleshy, something like dock roots, and they go down 
to a considerable distance into the soil. 

This plant is not likely to be grown as a soiling 
food, at least to any great extent, on the arable soils 
of the northern and central states, where other and 
better soiling plants are or may be grown so numer- 
ously. It may be different however in the southern 
states where cultivated grasses of the better yielding 
varieties grow but shyly. A plant that has rendered 
service in providing soiling food even in England 



230 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

where soiling foods grow in such variety, is at least 
well worthy of a fair trial in all those sections of 
the United States which are possessed of fair adapta- 
tion for producing it. 

The Sunflower. — The sunflower (Helianthus 
annuus) though not suitable for soiling food be- 
cause of the woody character of the stems is some- 
times grown to be made into silage. Like the 
artichoke it is so well known that it will not be neces- 
sary to describe it. The stems are so woody that 
they are even considered unsuitable for being made 
into silage, hence the heads only are used for that 
purpose. Because of this and for the further reason 
that the work of harvesting is tedious, as now prac- 
tised, it is questionable if sunflowers will ever be 
generally grown as a soiling crop. The difficulties 
in the way of gathering the seed expeditiously will 
deter many from even attempting to grow this plant 
for any purpose notwithstanding the relatively large 
yield of valuable food that a good crop produces. 
The Russian is the favorite variety grown at present 
in the United States. 

The sunflower is of wide distribution and may 
be grown in a great variety of soils. The humus 
soils of the prairie are well suited to its needs. It 
has much power to grow under dry conditions. 

Sacaline. — Sacaline {Polygonum Sachalinense) 
is a plant that is said to have originated in the island 
of Saghalin in the Pacific and not far from the 
coast of Asia. It resembles a shrub rather than 
a forage plant m the form of its growth. By. the 
time the autumn arrives the stems that have not 
been cut during the season are but little less woody. 



MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 23 I 

Fresh shoots are sent up every year however, to take 
the place of the old ones. The most extravagant 
statements have been made by certain American 
seedsmen regarding the great value of this plant for 
forage. They represented it as possessed of special 
adaptation for semi-arid climates, as being capable 
of producing several cuttings of foliage every year, 
aggregating enormous yields, and as being able thus 
to produce for an indefinite period. 

Sacaline has been tested hov^ever by nearly all 
the experiment stations in this country and they are 
almost a unit in the verdict that it has no important 
mission to fill on this continent. It does not grow 
nearly so rapidly as was represented, and the stems 
become so woody at an early period of their growth 
that they cannot be eaten by live stock. In no trial 
made by the Author at the Minnesota Experiment 
station did the animals show an}^ fondness for even 
the leaves of this plant. It is propagated chiefly by 
root cuttings. It is recommended to plant these 
in rows far enough apart to admit of cultivating the 
plants. But the agricultural value of sacaline would 
seem to be so low that to describe further the 
methods of growing it would be only a waste of 
space. 



CHAPTER XII. 

SUCCESSION IN SOILING CROPS. 

It will be the aim in this chapter to designate 
the various crops that may be grown as soiling food 
in one season and also the succession in which thej 
may be grown. The task is not easy because of the 
great difference in the climatic and soil conditions in 
the various states of the Union and in the provinces 
of Canada. The only way in which such a designa- 
tion of soiling crops can be made that will be even 
approximately correct, is to divide these states and 
provinces into groups, and then to name the suc- 
cession in the soiling crops that can be most profit- 
ably grown in each. This division or grouping of 
states and provinces, will of necessity have to be 
based upon similarity in the soil and climatic con- 
ditions peculiar to each. When those states and 
provinces have been thus grouped, the succession 
fixed upon can only serve as a general guide, be- 
cause of the frequency of variations in soils in 
states that lie contiguous and also in different parts 
of the same state. 

In nearly all parts of the United States and 
Canada, a succession of soiling crops can be grown 
which will furnish green food from spring until the 
closing in of winter. The season for growing 
these crops will of course vary with the differences 
in latitude and also in altitude. Along the northerly 

232 



SUCCESSION IN SOILING CROPS. 233 

limit of the cultivated area in Canada it will be very 
short, and as the southern boundary of the United 
States is approached, it may be made to cover nearly 
all the year. It will be the aim in this chapter not 
only to point out the succession in which soiling 
crops may be grown, but to so designate the order 
to be followed in the same, so as to enable the grower 
to feed each plant in its proper season, and conse- 
quently when the greatest benefit will be obtained 
from feeding it. 

It should be understood however that the suc- 
cession of soiling crops given below in each of the 
divisions named is intended to furnish a general 
rather than a specific guide as to the order in which 
they should be grown. It would be impossible to 
lay down hard and fast rules that would in all in- 
stances furnish an absolutely sure guide to the 
grower, and for the following reasons : — 

I, There are individual plants which in 
favorable locations may be made to furnish 
green food during all the season of growtli. 
Such are alfalfa and rape. In these areas 
other plants may also be grown at the 
same time. In such instances therefore, the ques- 
tion with the feeder is rather a choice of plants than 
a succession of the same. 2, Other plants, as vetches, 
grow vigorously under some conditions, spring and 
autumn, but not in the summer, hence they are in 
season for being fed twice a year. 3, When soiling 
foods are grown as catch crops, the variations in 
the season of sowing them will prove a disturbing 
factor to any order of succession that may be fixed 
upon. 



234 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

Grouping States and Provinces. — The order 
followed in grouping the various states of the Union 
and the provinces of Canada, will be substantially 
the same as that given in the book on "Forage 
Crops," previously published by the Author. It is 
as follows : — 

Section No. i includes all the arable country 
north of the Potomac and Ohio rivers, and east of 
Indiana and Wisconsin. In other words it includes 
the New England states, the states of New York, 
New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, 
Ohio, Michigan and Ontario, Quebec and the 
Maritime or Atlantic provinces of Canada. Sec- 
tion No. 2 covers the country west of the states of 
Michigan and Ohio, north of the Ohio and Missouri 
rivers and east of the Dakotas and the province of 
Assinaboia in Canada, that is to say, it covers the 
states of Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, 
Iowa, part of Missouri, and the province of Mani- 
toba in Canada. Section No. 3 includes the states 
south of the Potomac, Ohio and Missouri rivers, and 
east of the ninety-fifth meridian of west longitude. 
It therefore includes the states of Virginia, Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, 
Arkansas and part of Missouri. Section No. 4 
embraces the states west of the ninety-fifth 
meridian of West Longitude, east of the Rocky 
mountains and south of the Dakotas. In other 
words it embraces Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and 
Texas. Section No. 5 covers the country north 
from Nebraska, west of Minnesota and Manitoba 
and east of the Rocky mountains, that is to say, it 



SUCCESSION IN SOILING CROPS. 235 

covers the states of North and South Dakota and 
part of Montana and Wyoming, also the Canadian 
provinces of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan and Alberta. 
Section No 6 includes the Rocky mountain valleys 
north from Salt Lake. It therefore includes these 
valleys in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, 
Washington and British Columbia. Section No. 7. 
embraces the Rocky mountain valleys south from 
the latitude of the Great Salt Lake. In other words, 
it embraces these valleys in the states of Colorado, 
New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California. 
Section No. 8 covers the narrow strip of land west 
of the Cascade mountains and north from Cali- 
fornia, that is to say, it covers the western parts of 
Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. 

Succession in Section N'o. i. — In Section No. i 
the climate is more humid than in areas farther 
west, and the soil has more of the clay content in it 
than is usually found in prairie soils. This section 
therefore has high adaptation for plants of the 
clover family and for other legumes, as peas and 
vetches. It has high adaptation also for cereals grown 
alone or in the mixed form^ These crops there- 
fore should be used to the greatest extent possible 
in producing soiling food. Corn may be grown 
for soiling uses in nearly all the tillable portions of 
this area, and the same is true of rape, millet, field 
roots and cabbage, and in a less degree of sorghum. 
The entire section therefore has much adaptation 
for the growth of soiling foods. 

The succession in which soiling crops may be 
grown in this section is as follows : — Winter rye, 
alfalfa, medium red clover, mammoth, and alsike 



236 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

clover, peas and oats or peas and vetches, corn, sor- 
ghum, millet, rape, field roots and cabbage. Som.e 
of these crops could be grown so as to be in season 
at successive intervals : Alfalfa and rape are of this 
class, others are in season simultaneously, as for 
instance peas and oats, mammoth and alsike clover. 
The principal soiling crops in a more restricted 
succession would contain, peas and oats, or vetches 
and oats, corn or sorghum, and rape or field roots. 
Where crimson clover can be grown it will be ready 
for feeding next after wmter rye. 

Succession in Section No. 2. — The medium 
red, mammoth and alsike varieties of clover grow 
well in nearly all parts of states included in Section 
No. 2, but not in the province of Manitoba. Crim- 
son clover only succeeds in the more southerly areas 
of the same, and even in these it is not absolutely 
reliable. Winter rye, m^ixed grains, millet, rape, 
cabbage and field roots groAv vigorously, but not 
with an equal vigor in all the area included. The 
same is true of corn and sorghum, although these 
grow much better southward than northward. 
Peas and vetches grow fairly well but better north- 
ward than southward. The cowpea and the soy 
bean in some of their varieties grow nicely in the 
southern part of Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, but 
not so well farther north. Alfalfa grows only in 
sectional areas. It is evident, therefore, that the suc- 
cession in the northern third of this section would not 
be the same as in the southern third. In the former 
the order in which the leading soiling crops would be 
ready would be as follows : — 

Winter rye, peas and oats or peas and vetches. 



SUCCESSION IN SOILING CROPS. 237 

corn or sorghum, millet, rape, field roots and cab- 
bage. And the more important of these would in- 
clude peas and oats or peas and vetches, millet and 
rape. In the latter the order would be: — Winter 
rye, medium red clover, mammoth, or alsike clover, 
peas and oats, or peas and vetches, corn, sorghum, 
millet, rape, field roots and cabbage. In the central 
third of the section the most favored varieties would 
include, peas and oats, corn or sorghum, millet and 
rape. In the southern third of the same these 
would include medium red clover, the soy bean, or 
cowpea and corn, or sorghum. Where crimson 
clover and alfalfa could be grown, these would be 
ready for being fed immediately after winter rye. 

Succession in Section No. 3.^^Winter rye, win- 
ter oats, crimson clover, the common winter vetch, 
the sand vetch, corn, sorghum, the cowpea, the soy 
bean, rape and cabbage can be grown with more, or 
less success in nearly all sections of the several states 
comprised in this section. The non-saccharine sor- 
ghums and millet in some of its forms can also be 
grown at their best in certain sections, but not so 
generally as nearly all of the various plants previ- 
ously named. Alfalfa grows admirably in many 
localities, but does not succeed in others, and the 
same is true of field roots, and in many sections 
Japan clover, the velvet bean and teosinte grow with 
much vigor. More especially is this true of areas 
that lie within the Gulf states. 

For the northern half of Section No. 3 the 
succession would be: — Winter rye, winter oats, 
crimson clover, the common winter vetch, the sand 
vetch, corn, sorghum, one or more of the non- 



238 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

saccharine sorghums, the cowpea, the soy bean, 
millet, rape, field roots and cabbage. A limited 
succession would include crimson clover, the soy 
bean or the cowpea and corn or sorghum in one 
or more of its varieties. The succession for the 
southern half of the section would be to a certain 
extent the same as for the northern half, but in 
the former more prominence relatively should be 
given to the sorghums than to corn, and in some 
sections the velvet bean and possibly teosinte and 
Japan clover should be given a place in the succes- 
sion. Where alfalfa can be grown with entire 
success, as for instance on the bottom lands of 
Louisiana, this plant alone could be made to provide 
soiling food for live stock during much of the year. 
Succession in Section No. 4. — In Section No. 4 
the variety of plants that can be grown as soiling 
food is not quite so large. In much of this area the 
clovers, except alfalfa, could scarcely be taken into 
account. The millets, at least in the common 
varieties, would not prove a marked success, because 
of the dry conditions. The common winter vetch 
and the sand vetch would not render much ser- 
vice, chiefly because of the want of moisture. Much 
prominence ought to be given to alfalfa, especially 
in Nebraska and Kansas, and to certain of the non- 
saccharine sorghums as kaffir corn and milo maize, 
in all the area, because of the marked adaptation for 
these plants. The soy bean has on the whole higher 
adaptation to these states than the cowpea. The 
moisture is also too little to admit of growing 
rape at its best and the summer temperatures are 
also too high. 



SUCCESSION IN SOILING CROPS 239 

The succession of soiling foods would be some- 
what as follows: — Winter rye, alfalfa, the sand 
vetch, the cowpea, corn or sorghum, one or more 
of the non-saccharine sorghums, pearl millet and 
teosinte. A more limited succession would include, 
alfalfa, corn or sorghum, the soy bean and one or 
more of the non-saccharine sorghums. These crops, 
except corn and the soy bean, may be made to 
furnish more than one cutting a year. 

Succession in Section No. 5. — The succession 
of soiling plants in Section No. 5 is still more 
restricted than in Section No. 4. The several 
species of clover are virtually excluded except in 
some of the river bottoms toward the mountains. 
In these alfalfa may be grown. The non-saccharine 
sorghums, the soy bean and the winter vetch must 
also be excluded. The cereal grains of the small 
varieties, corn, millet, rape, field roots and cab- 
bage are the only soiling foods which can be 
grown in nearly all the area covered by this 
section. 

The succession in the eastern half of the section 
would be : — Winter rye, mixed grains as peas and 
oats, millet, corn, rape, field roots and cabbage. The 
more restricted succession would include: — Mixed 
grains, corn, millet and rape. In the western half 
of the area, the principal crops would be mixed 
grains and corn, and in the river bottoms alfalfa 
could be added. Quick maturing varieties of corn 
would have to be grown in nearly all parts of this 
section. Sorghum could also be grown in the south- 
ern portions. Millet grows admirably along the 
eastern border. But winter rye could not always 



240 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

be depended on westward in the section, because of 
the want of moisture in the autumn. 

Succession in Section hfo. 6. — In the mountain 
valleys in this section, alfalfa, medium red clover, 
peas and vetches will probably furnish the chief 
soiling foods through all time. In the valleys 
lying southward these crops will be grown under 
irrigation. On the bench lands adjacent to the 
mountains, they Avill be supplied with moisture 
from seepage w^aters percolating downward be- 
cause of the metting of the snows upon the 
mountains. In the valleys lying northward these 
crops will in many instances be grown without 
irrigation. 

The possible succession of soiling crops would 
include winter rye, the winter vetch, alfalfa, medium 
red clover, alsike clover, mixed grains as peas and 
eats, the sand vetch, rape, field roots and cabbage. 
The more restricted succession would include alfalfa, 
medium red clover and peas and oats, or peas 
and vetches. In the valleys lying southward, much 
prominence should be given to the winter vetch, and 
some use could also be made of corn. Alfalfa alone 
could be made to supply soiling food during nearly 
all the growing season. Especially is this true of the 
valleys north of the Canadian boundary. In the 
semi-range lands of Washington and Oregon where 
the conditions are dry, and where irrigating waters 
cannot be supplied, and where also the nights are 
cool, the succession would have to be restricted to 
such crops as mixed grains of which wheat would be 
one of the chief, Austrian brome grass, {Bromus 
inermis) and rape. 



THE HISTORY OF SILOING. 24! 

Succession in Section No. 7. — Much of the 
soiling food grown in this section would have to 
be produced through irrigation. Alfalfa alone could 
be made to meet the requirements, so marked is its 
adaptation to the conditions of soil and climate. 
But to create variety such foods as the soy bean and 
certain of the non-saccharine sorghums could be 
introduced. 

The possible succession in soiling crops would 
include, winter rye, alfalfa, mixed grains, as for 
instance oats and the sand vetch, corn, sorghum, the 
non-saccharine sorghums, the soy bean, pearl millet, 
teosinte, rape, field roots and cabbage. The more 
valuable of these crops would be alfalfa and the 
sorghums. These could be grown side by side and 
could at certain times be fed simultaneously. 

Succession in Section No. 8. — In no part of 
the continent can soiling foods, leguminous in 
character, be produced in so great variety as in this 
section. All the leading varieties of clover grow 
admirably, and the same is true of the leading varie- 
ties of the vetch and pea. The sand vetch will doubt- 
less grow well, but because of the ease with which 
the common vetch can be produced it is not necessary 
to grow it unless in areas sandy in character. Rape, 
field roots and cabbage grow in great perfection. 
But the summer temperatures are low for corn, 
sorghum, the non-saccharine sorghums and millet. 
Alfalfa and crimson clover have not been much tried 
as yet, but will doubtless succeed. 

The possible succession of these crops therefore 
will include winter rye, crimson clover, alfalfa, 
medium red, alsike, mammoth and white clover, 

16 



242 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

perennial rye grass, peas and oats, peas and vetches, 
rape, field roots and cabbage. Medium red clover 
alone could be made to furnish soiling food during 
much of the season, and the same is true of the 
, vetch if both the wjnter and the sprii^g varieties are 
sown, and it is also true of rape. The restricted 
succession would include medium red clover, vetches 
and oats, peas and oats, and rape. 



PART TWO 



SILOS AND SILAGE 



CHAPTER I. 



THE HISTORY OF SILOING. 



Any discussion of soiling crops that did not also 
coiisider silos and silage would be incomplete, 
since it is probably true that more green food is 
fed in the United States in the form of silage than 
in any other form. It would not be possible with 
accuracy to state the number of silos in the United 
States at the present time but it is probably not less 
than one hundred thousand, and it is rapidly in- 
creasing. There is probably no state in the Union 
without its quota of silos. This fact is very signifi- 
cant when it is called to mind that over ground silos 
had not been built in this country prior to 1876. 

Plan of the Discussion. — It will be the aim of 
the Author to discuss this question from an un- 
biased standpoint. In reading the various excellent 
publications that have appeared on the subject in the 
United States the thought is forced on the mind by 
all or nearly all of them that they are in a sense pleas 
for the silo. The men who have written them have 
been enthusiastic advocates of the silo, and in their 
enthusiasm they would seem to have overlooked or 
kept in abeyance the fact, that silos are not equally 
needed, or equally helpful in the various states of the 
Union or even in all sections of each state. This 
enthusiasm is not only pardonable but it has unques- 
tionabl}^ been positively helpful in hastening the 

245 



246 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

introduction and distribution of silos. And these in 
turn have proved greatly helpful to farmers and 
more especially to dairymen. 

The present discussion however will not be 
a plea for the silo. It will look into both sides of 
the question for it is true that silos are not equally 
necessary, that they are not equally helpful, that 
some conditions of farming do not call for their 
construction and that only certain kinds of 
crops can be preserved in them with uniform 
success. The aim will be therefore to discuss the 
question as it is, and not as the Author might de- 
sire it to be. 

Definition of Terms. — A silo is a structure 
designed for the preservation of food in the green 
and succulent form. The term is derived from the 
Greek word siros a. pit for holding grain. In some 
instances it is simply a pit or hole dug in the ground 
where the drainage, natural or artificial, is sufficient 
to prevent an undue accumulation of moisture. 
In others it is a structure of wood, stone or some 
other building material or a combination of these 
standing out by itself or within a barn or stable of 
which it may be said to form a part. More com- 
monly it is now built entirely above ground although 
sometimes it goes down for some distance into the 
earth. The modern silo is usually a structure rather 
than a pit, as the original idea of preserving food 
in pits in the ground is but little practiced now, at 
least in this country. 

Ensilage or Silage, as it is now more commonly 
called, is green and succulent food preserved in a 
silo in a green and succulent condition. It is 



THE HISTORY OF SILOING. 247 

preserved in the uncut form or after it has been run 
through a cutting box and is packed more or less 
tightly according to conditions such as those that 
relate to the variety of the food, its succulence, and 
the depth of the silo. Soon after the green food has 
been placed in the silo fermentation begins and the 
temperature rises. The air w^ithin the mass is thus 
expelled and when it is, chemical change virtually 
ceases. The product thus preserved may be kept in- 
definitely, providing air is not allowed to penetrate 
it. Because of this it is important that the sides and 
floor of the structure shall be practically air-tight. 
The air is usually prevented from entering from 
above to any considerable depth by covering the 
silage v^ith some less valuable vegetable substance as 
more fully described in Chapter V. 

The principle in making silage is the same 
virtually as in canning fruits or in making sauer- 
kraut. When the temperature in the mass rises un- 
til it attains 122 degrees Fahrenheit the action of the 
ferments is arrested. As soon as the available 
oxygen is exhausted chemical change ceases and 
sweet silage is the result. If however from any 
cause, as for instance an excess of moisture in the 
plants, the temperature does not reach 122 degrees 
Fahrenheit, the acid ferments will not be killed and 
the result will be sour silage. Sour silage is not only 
less valuable than sweet silage, but there is usually 
greater w^aste in making it. 

The terms sweet and sour as applied to silage 
are only relative terms. There is no line of dis- 
tinction between them so sharply drawm that it may 
be said where the one begins and the other ends. 



248 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

There is no silage of which it may be said that it is 
entirely free from acidity. 

Forrnerly the term ensilage was frequently used 
to indicate the process of storing food green and 
succulent in the silo. As distinguished from silage 
the latter was the food and the former the process 
of making it, but the use of the term ensilage is 
becoming obsolete. Ensilage and silage are now 
regarded as synonymous. 

Siloing or Ensiling food is the process of mak- 
ing it into silage, that is to say, it is the process of 
putting it into the silo and of curing it in the same. 
While it cannot be said that these terms have been 
extensively used by speakers and writers they would 
seem to express very concisely the idea involved. 
Why then should any objection be made to using 
them ? 

A Siloist is a person who makes and feeds sil- 
age. The term has not been used heretofore to any 
considerable extent. Possibly it may never become 
popular since the making and feeding of silage is 
more commonly an adjunct of farming, rather than 
the principal work of the farmer, and those who 
make silage are also usually farmers. The term 
is certainly wanted however or some equivalent to it 
for conciseness of statement when designating the 
relation of those engaged in making silage to the 
work in hand, why then should it not be adopted? 

Anfiqnity of Siloing. — It is not known when 
the method of preserving green food by putting it in 
the silo originated. It cannot therefore be known 
who was its originator. History is likely to be for- 
ever silent on this point. Ancient writers speak of 



THE HISTORY OF SILOING. 249 

the practice of burying grain in underground pits 
to save it for future use, or from enemies. It is 
possible therefore that the idea of the possibihty of 
curing food on the principle now practiced in making- 
silage was the outcome of the accident of hiding it 
from enemies and then finding it in good condition 
for use after it had been buried for a period more 
or less prolonged. 

There is ample evidence to show that semi- 
barbaric races in various countries have not only 
known of this method of preserving food but to some 
extent they have practiced it. Notably is this true 
of certain of the peoples of northern Europe, as for 
instance, those located in the regions around the 
Baltic sea, where rainy harvests render it difficult to 
preserve fodder for animals in the dried form. 
Their necessities therefore caused them to give some 
attention to a question that under other conditions 
would have attracted no attention whatever. 

Utilization of the Idea. — For about a century 
the preservation of green food by the same method 
substantially as that followed in making sauerkraut 
has prevailed to some extent in various parts of 
Germany. But it was not until the approach of the 
middle of the present century that attempts were 
made to preserve food thus on a large scale. The 
introduction of the manufacture of sugar beets into 
central Europe is doubtless responsible, in part at 
least, for the greatly increased attention that then 
began to be given to preserving food by burying it in 
pits. It was found a necessity in utilizing sugar 
beet tops and sugar beet pulp to the best advantage. 
But even then the process spread slowly owing 



250 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

doubtless to the great labor involved in curing green 
food by the method then practiced.. 

The Earlier Silos. — The earlier silos used by 
the people of France, Germany and some other' 
countries in Europe were simply pits or trenches 
dug in the ground. The material vv^as spread in 
these in uniform layers and was trodden or other- 
wise compressed so as to lie compactly. The green 
food was put into those pits by successive stages as 
for instance day by day or at intervals more pro- 
longed. The amount put in at one time was limited 
to not much more probably than one foot in depth. 
The object sought by filling thus gradually was to 
secure a more perfect settling of the mass through 
the fermentation engendered. 

When the pit was full it was common to cover 
the green food with a layer of straw or some other 
dry porous substance. Boards were then laid over 
the straw and a pressure applied which was not less 
than one hundred pounds to the square foot. The 
pressure was commonly secured through weighting 
with some heavy substance, as by placing stones on 
the boards or by covering them with earth. The 
earth thus used was distributed over the pit to the 
depth of one to two feet. 

In some instances the sides and floor of the 
pits were puddled with clay, and sometimes the sides 
were lined with boards. During the later years of 
siloing on this plan the trenches were occasionally 
cemented but this was not until a considerable period 
had elapsed subsequently to the more general intro- 
duction of this method of siloing. Such were the 
first silos made in the United States. They were 



THE HISTORY OF SILOING. 25 1 

patterned more particularly after the silos built by 
Goffart the great French siloist whose work is again 
referred to. His silos were 39.4 ft long, 16.4 ft 
broad and 16.4 ft deep and they were much circled at 
the ends. But the laboriousness of the process made 
it irksome to those who adopted it, and, because of 
this, American ingenuity set to work to emancipate 
the siloist from the bondage of so much hard labor 
when curing green food.' The result has been that 
the adaptation of the silo to the needs of the general 
farmer has been almost entirely the outcome of 
American skill. 

The Modern Silo. — When silos first began to 
be built on the modern plan, that is to say on the 
plan of a structure rather than on that of an under- 
ground pit it was deemed necessary to make the walls 
of stone and to excavate so that the silo would be, 
in part at least, below the level of the ground. And 
even as late as 1885, the practice of covering with 
boards and then weighting with earth or stones was 
universal. The idea of making these structures 
narrow and deep so that pressure would be secured 
from the silage itself had not yet dawned on the 
minds of experimenters. The cost of the structures 
then used was so great and the mode of filling the 
silo and feeding the silage so cumbrous that it was 
feared by many that the silo would be helpful only 
to those possessed of considerable means, rather than 
to the great mass of farmers. 

It would be interesting to know more of the 
successes and failures in building silos and making 
silage during that peculiarly tentative period in 
American siloing between 1880 and 1890. To get 



252 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

this information would mean a search through the 
file copies of the entire American agricultural press. 
Much of it has douhtless never been published, since 
men are prone to cover up the story of failure rather 
than to hang it up as a beacon for the guidance 
of others. No question however was more discussed 
by contributors to the agricultural press during that 
revolution period in American siloing, and no ques- 
tion was more controverted. Even the most san- 
guine advocates of the silo during the decade re- 
ferred to could scarcely have hoped so soon to witness 
the completeness of the triumphs won by the modern 
silo. None would then have dared to predict that 
the last days of the century would look out over not 
fewer than one hundred thousand successful silos in 
the United States. 

It is claimed that the first silo built in America 
on the modern plan was made in 1876 and that it was 
erected by F. Morris of Maryland. The first wooden 
silo built west of the Alleghany mountains was that 
erected by John Gould of Aurora Station, O., in 
1884. The province of Ontario took its full share 
in helping forward the evolution of the American 
silo. V. E. Fuller, then of Hamilton, erected the 
first silo built in that provmce on his Oaklands Jersey 
farm in 188 1. It was located in the bay of the barn 
and in making it the ground was excavated far down 
through gravel hardpan. The walls and floor were 
lined with bricks and the bricks were overlaid witli 
concrete. Though Canada is not essentially a corn 
producing country like unto the states in the corn 
belt, many silos have been successfully built and op- 
erated in Ontario. The marked attention given to 



THE HISTORY OF SILOING. 253 

the dairy industry in that province is largely re- 
sponsible for such a result. 

The chief centers for silos in the United States 
are, of course, the dairy centers, as for instance, New 
York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Illinois. But 
many silos are now being built in states further west, 
as for instance, Minnesota and Iowa. In the New 
England states the number of silos is also relatively 
large. 

American Progress in Siloing. — The marvel- 
ous progress in siloing in the United States during 
recent years is not accidental. The time was ripe 
for the introduction of the silo. A wave of dairy 
advance was beginning to sweep over the continent 
when discussion began as to the merits of the silo, 
and dairymen must through all time be deeply inter- 
ested in securing succulent food for their cattle. 
The attention of a large and intelligent section of 
the community was therefore at once secured as 
soon as the discussion began on the practicability of 
providing green food summer and winter for dairy 
stock. 

The great extent to which Indian corn is grown 
in this country proved favorable to success in the 
earlier experiments in making silage. It is now 
generally conceded that Indian corn is par excellence 
the silo plant. The great succ^^ss achieved bv 
American siloists is in a measure due to this fact, but 
of course it does not account for the great progress 
made in improving the silo or in preserving silage. 

Mistakes Made by Early Siloists.— As was to be 
expected many mistakes were made by the earlier 
siloists. The silos were unnecessarily costly as 



254 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

already intimated. They were sunk too low in the 
ground. So little attention was given to the preser- 
vation of the foundation of wood silos when they 
were first introduced and to providing ventilation 
for the walls that decay was unduly rapid. The silos 
were too shallow, hence the pressure of the silage 
was not enough to secure the best results. The sur- 
face dimensions were often so large as to make 
it difficult to properly preserve the exposed portion 
of the silage while it was being fed. Corn and other 
green food was oftentimes put into the silo in a form 
too green, hence it became unduly sour. And in 
other instances the food was put in too dry which 
induced mold. These mistakes may now be gen- 
erally avoided by the siloist who intelligently makes 
use of the information now available. But it must 
be acknowledged that many things are yet to be 
learned about siloing by the average siloist before 
he will be able to make first-class silage with uniform 
and unvarying success. 

Literature on the Silo. — Since the introduction 
of the silo into the United States no question per- 
taining to agriculture has been more generally dis- 
cussed. At the outset these discussions emanated 
chiefly from the men who had experimented with 
silos and they appeared in pamphlet or book form 
and also in the agricultural press according to cir- 
cumstances. Later, experiments were conducted 
and somewhat numerously at a considerable number 
of the agricultural experiment stations. The results 
from these experiments were given to the public in 
bulletin form. It is evident therefore that much of 
the literature produced on the subject is fragmentary 



THE HISTORY OF SILOING. 255 

and of necessity somewhat crude in its character. 
More recently however a few individuals have pub- 
lished books on the subject which cover the same 
with more or less completeness. But almost without 
exception it would be correct to say these are pleas 
for the silo rather than unbiased discussions of the 
broad question of silage and the silo. 

In the judgment of the Author nearly all of 
those who have written thus upon the subject in the 
United States have overestimated the feeding value 
of corn and its power to maintain animals in good 
health when fed confinuously as the principal food 
ration. They have also apparently placed too little 
value on soiling crops, more especially the legumes. 
They have underestimated the worth of pastures 
by viewing them simply as producers of so much 
food without having sufficiently considered the 
beneficent influence which they exert mechanically 
and otherwise upon soils. And they have not 
sufficiently emphasized the losses from making poor 
and spoiled silage. However, it is but fitting to say 
that the enthusiasm which has shut its eyes to these 
and kindred truths relating to the siloing of crops 
has been most helpful in fastening public attention 
on a method of preserving fodder which is certainly 
capable of bringing great benefit to our agriculture. 

It is now generally conceded that the first book 
ever written on the silo is from the pen of M. Auguste 
Goffart, an agriculturist of Sologne, near Orleans, in 
France. The manual of the Culture and Siloing of 
Maize is the title of the book in English. It ap- 
peared in 1877 a^d it contains the results of 
many years of careful experiment in growing and 



256 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

preserving green crops. The appearance of this work 
did much to arrest the attention of agriculturists not 
only in France but also in other countries. Although 
sundry experiments in preserving green crops in 
Germany and also in some other countries had been 
conducted previously to the publication of Goffart's 
book, there can be no doubt that its appearance 
served in no slight degree to draw public attention 
to the advantages resulting to the agriculturist from 
preserving crops thus in the green form. Because 
of M. Auguste Goffart's early, persistent and abun- 
dant labors in this work he has been frequently 
designated "The father of modern silage." His 
book was translated into English in 1879, by J. W. 
Brown of New York City. 

In 1875 "The French Mode of Curing Forage" 
was published in the annual report of the United 
States department of agriculture. This it is thought 
was the first discussion of the subject in the United 
States which treated it in a comprehensive and sys- 
tematic manner, although previously various articles 
had appeared in the agricultural press. These re- 
lated chiefly to European experience. Dr. J. M. 
Bailey published a work on the subject in 1880. Dr. 
Manly Miles of the Michigan Agricultural college 
wrote a work en silos, silage and ensilage which 
appeared in 1889. Prof. A. J. Cook then of the 
Michigan Agricultural college published in 1889 
"The Silo and Silage" and in 1890 a revised edition 
of the same. This book treats of silos as then con- 
structed and of silage, as then made, in a very practi- 
cal way. The "Book on Silage" by Prof. F. W. 
Woll, of the Michigan Agricultural college, was 



THE HISTORY OF SILOING. . 257 

published in 1899. It is by far the most compre- 
hensive discussion of the question that has yet 
appeared from the pen of any American author. 
Other pubhcations have also appeared in Europe on 
the question, but they are not noticed here since the 
methods which they recommend are on the whole 
not nearly so well adapted to American conditions as 
those submitted by American authors. 
17 



CHAPTER 11. 

THE BENEFITS FROM SILOING CROPS. 

The benefits from siloing crops are many. 
Prominent among them are the following: — i, The 
crops that are thus stored may be harvested in what 
may be termed a wholesale way. 2, They may be 
cured, without loss, in showery weather. 3, Green 
food may thus be furnished all the year from this 
one source. 4, The food is rendered more palatable 
and in a sense more healthful when fed as a part of 
a ration. 5, The silo is economical of space. 6, It 
is also economical of labor when the food is being 
fed to the stock. These benefits are however to 
some extent offset by certain disadvantages. These 
will be noticed as well as the benefits, and some prac- 
tical deductions drawn from the discussion. 

Wholesale Harvesting of Crops. — When crops 
are cured in the silo the labor of harvesting is of 
necessity done in a w^holesale way, that is to say, it is 
usually done within a short period, wnth but little 
interruption in the work, and with a minimum of 
waste of time on the part of men and teams. The 
necessity for first curing the food and then handling 
it again in storing is thus obviated. But these bene- 
fits are in a measure offset by the difficulty in se- 
curing the necessary machinery and men to do the 
work in season. Especially is this true with the 

258 



THE BENEFITS FROM SILOING CROPS. 259 

occupants of small farms, and the difficulty increases 
with the multiplication of silos in any community. 
It can be obviated in part, but not wholly, by doing 
the work on some system of co-operation between 
farmers who are near neighbors. 

Cured in Showery Weather. — Such crops as are 
suitable for being made into silage may be stored 
in the silo under conditions of weather quite adverse 
to the dry curing of the same in the ordinary way. 
Particularly is this true of such crops as are easily 
injured by rain, as clover for instance, and the cow- 
pea. The work of storing may go on in some in- 
stances without any interruption other than what is 
caused by the Avork hands seeking shelter from the 
falling rain. But in other instances more or less of 
delay would be necessary, as it is possible to store 
some crops in the silo with too much of moisture in 
them. Some kinds of crops can thus be saved with 
but little harm that would otherwise be ruined by 
excessive wet, and they may also be handled at such 
times with but little increase in the labor involved 
in handling them. 

Green Food All the Year. — The silo may be 
made to furnish green food all the year, and under 
some conditions more easily than it can be furnished 
from any other source. There ar^ localities in which 
soiling crops other than corn or sorghum cannot be 
readily grown with marked success, and there may 
be instances in which it would not be convenient to 
grow them or to command the time required to cut 
and feed them when grown. Under such conditions 
a supply of silage in excess of the needs of the 
stock during winter is helpful, more especially to 



26o SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

men, whose cows would otherwise be wholly de- 
pendent on pastures which may fail with the advent 
of dry weather. 

There is no method of ijroviding green food 
even for summer feeding that is so economical of 
labor. Silage can be taken from the silo and fed to 
cows in much less time than soiling food could be 
provided from any other source. And when meal 
is given at the same time, it may be fed more profit- 
ably when mixed with the silage than when fed 
along with other soiling food, without first running 
the same through a fodder cutter. To prepare green 
food thus by cutting it up would be impracticable 
when harvested day by day, unless when a very 
large quantity was used daily, and where there is an 
ample supply of help. 

Live stock will also eat such food with avidity. 
Instances are on record where cows have shown a 
preference for corn silage over grass, and there is no 
period of the year, not even when grass is at its 
best, that they will not eat with evident relish more 
or less of corn silage when well preserved. The 
silo therefore may be made to furnish soiling food 
every day in the year, since it will answer quite well 
to begin feeding from a silo the day after the filling 
of the same has been completed, and even while the 
filling process is under way. 

But it does not follow^ that because live stock 
may thus be provided with green food that it will 
not be eminently proper to provide and feed other 
green food. Corn is not in itself a balanced ration, 
nor is corn silage and grass, and even though these 
did furnish a balanced food, a variety is usually 



THE BENEFITS FROM SILOING CROPS. 26 1 

preferable to one or two kinds, and a change of food 
to sameness in the diet. 

If air is excluded from silage it will probably 
keep for an indefinite period. Nevertheless there 
would seem to be no good reasons for trying to pre- 
serve silage for more than one year under ordinary 
conditions. The additional space required for stor- 
ing silage intended for feeding more than one year 
would be unnecessarily costly, nor would any com- 
mensurate benefits accrue from so doing. There 
would seem to be no more necessity for providing 
storage for silage to last more than a year than for 
providing the same for crops that are cured in the 
dry form. 

Food More Palatable. — When food is properly 
preserved in the silo it is certainly more palatable 
than when fed in the dry form. This means that 
a less proportion of the food will be wasted in feed- 
ing. In fact, there should be but little waste in feed- 
ing silage in any instance and in many instances 
none at all. However the liability of improper 
curing must not be lost sight of. It is easily possible 
to make silage that will not be palatable, as for in- 
stance, when it is excessively acid, or when it con- 
tains more or less of dry mold. 

When food is thus fed in a succulent condition, 
up to a certain limit at least, it acts beneficially on 
the digestive organs. It tends to relieve consti- 
pation induced by feeding dry food when made a 
part of the ration, and consequently it acts bene- 
ficially on the health of the animals. But when fed 
in excess, as when it is made the sole ration for any 
lengthened period, or when it is inferior in quality, 



2^2 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

such feeding may injure the animals and even 
seriously. The difference in the effects produced on 
digestion by feeding the same kind of food in the 
green and dried forms respectively, is well brought 
out in the feeding of grass when in the most com- 
plete state of succulence and in feeding the same 
as hay. 

Economy in Storage Space. — The silo is eco- 
nomical of space in storing food. In other words 
it requires a much less area to store food in 
the green form than to store it when dried. This 
means therefore that a given amount of green food 
can usually be stored in a silo at a less cost for the 
storage accommodation than would be entailed in 
providing storage room for the sarne in the dried 
form. 

This advantage is however to some extent offset 
by other considerations. First, it is necessary to 
make some provision by way of storage for other 
food. When the expense of providing storage for 
both green and dry food cannot be borne by the 
farmer, he can better do without the storage for the 
green food. Second, the silo in some of its forms 
wears out more quickly than structures made to 
receive dry food. The saving in storage space 
effected by the silo is most apparent when large 
quantities of food are to be handled. 

Economy in Labor When Feeding. — The silo is 
economical in labor when feeding the food. It can 
usually be located so that the food is nearer to the 
place of feeding than it would be possible to store 
equal quantities of dr}^ food in the cured form. It 
is easily handled because of its lack of bulkiness and 



THE BENEFITS FROM SILOING CROPS. 263 

because it is more commonly fed in the cut form. 
More especially is this true of silage fed from a 
truck in properly constructed stables. It also ob- 
viates the necessity of cutting or chaffing, as it is 
sometimes called, other fodder to provide a bulk 
factor with which to mix the meal fed, since the meal 
so fed can be mixed with the silage. But these 
benefits do not apply equally when the silage is made 
in the uncut form, that is, when it is put into the silo 
without running it through a cutting box. 

PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 

The following considerations based, in part at 
least, on what has already been said on the benefits 
from soiling crops will now be discussed, viz. : — 
I, The benefits from the silo do not apply equally 
in all parts of the country. 2, Because of this, while 
in some sections silos are, in a sense, indispensable, 
in others the wisdom of building them may well be 
called in question. 3, In the present state of our 
knowledge, therefore, the relative distribution of 
silos (if the term may be thus used) in the United 
States and Canada can only be given with approxi- 
mate correctness. 

Benefits Do Not Apply Equally. — That the 
benefits from the silo do not apply equally is easy of 
demonstration. These will be relatively greater: — 
I, When more or less difficulty is usually experienced 
in curing crops in the dried form. 2, In localities 
where building materials are relatively dear. 3, 
Where the winters are relatively long. 4, Where 
the staple crops grown are not easily preserved 



264 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

without loss in the dried form. And 5, Where a 
large number of the farmers relatively are engaged 
in dairying. 

In the region of the Great Lakes the precipita- 
tion is frequently so great as to imperil crops while 
they are being cured. In nearly all of the Rocky 
mountain valleys rain is practically unknown in 
harvest time. The necessity for siloing crops in the 
former therefore will always be greater than in the 
latter. In the New England states snow falls 
abundantly and sometimes in the form of sleet. 
Because of this corn in the shock is oftentimes ren- 
derd inaccessible during certain portions of the 
winter. In the semi-arid belt the snow fall is usually 
light. In the latter therefore the silo is much less of 
a necessity than in the former. 

In timber areas lumber and other building 
materials are relatively cheap. Far out on the tree- 
less prairies they are relatively dear, other things 
being equal therefore, the benefits from the silo 
should be greater on the prairie than in the timber 
country, since about three times as much food can 
be stored in the silo as in an equal space in ordinary 
farm buildings. 

North of the fortieth parallel of latitude soiling 
food cannot usually be provided from the fields 
earlier than May nor later than November. The 
further northward from the said parallel that any 
place is located the shorter does the season become 
for providing such food. 

On the other hand the further south from the 
same parallel that any place is situated, the longer is 
the season during which green food may be provided 



THE BENEFITS FROM SILOING CROPS. 26 



directly from the fields. The season, therefore, 
for providing- soiling food directly in areas as far 
northward as in Canada, does not cover a larger 
period than three to four months, other things being 
equal, therefore, the further northward the location 
the greater will be the necessity for siloing the food. 

Some crops are much more difficult than others 
to cure in the dry form. Such are corn, sorghum, 
the non-saccharine sorghums, the cow pea and the 
soy bean. The necessity for silos therefore is 
usually greater when these are staple crops than 
when they are not. The non-saccharine sorghums 
however have greater adaptation for dry conditions, 
as shown in Chapter IV, Part i., hence it is not so 
necessary to make these into silage, since the weather 
is favorable to curing them in the dried form. 

Some sections of the country are almost exclu- 
sively devoted to the production of dairy products. 
Other sections produce virtually none of these. The 
close relation between succulent foods and successful 
dairying is generally recognized. It follows there- 
fore, other things being equal, that the necessity for 
the silo will grow with the growth of dairying. 

Silos Not Ahvays a Necessity. — From what has 
been said in the preceding paragraphs it will be 
evident that silos are not nearly so much of a neces- 
sity in some places as in others, and it would not be 
going too far perhaps to say that in certain areas 
they are not a necessity to any extent. It is evident 
that in the moist New England states which produce 
corn in good form for the silo, the necessity for silos 
will be greater than in the moist climate on the Pacific 
coast in areas too cool for the successful growth of 



266 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

corn. It is equally apparent that in the states which 
border upon the Great Lakes, the necessity for the 
silo is much greater than in the semi-arid belt east 
of the Rocky mountains, or in the Rocky mountain 
valleys where irrigation is practiced. In the former 
corn grows abundantly. In summer there is usually 
sufficient moisture and in winter the snow frequently 
falls deep and piles up around the corn shocks. In 
the latter the precipitation almost ceases in summer, 
and the snow fall is usually light. Dairying is not 
much practiced in the semi-arid region, nor is it ever 
likely to be the dominant agricultural industry in the 
same. It would not be incorrect therefore to affirm 
that there is no great necessity for silos in the dry 
areas west of the Rocky mountains, nor would the 
necessity for them seem to be very great in those 
sections of the western and southwestern states 
which produce alfalfa abundantly. The latter can 
be cured almost without hazard in those rainless 
summer areas, on the other hand there may be in- 
stances even in the semi-arid region and in the dry 
southwestern states where silos may be made to 
render good service. 

In some of the corn growing prairie states, it 
has been argued that silos are a necessity because 
of the amount of soil that is frequently deposited on 
the corn or sorghum shocks by the prairie w^nds, and 
the argument has some force. But the difficulty 
may be met by stacking the corn or sorghum as soon 
as cured. 

Distribution of Silos. — By the term distribution 
of silos is meant their relative adaptation to the 
needs of various sections of the country. The 



THE BENEFITS FROM SILOING CROPS. 267 

discussion of this question will be simplified by 
dividing the country into sections where the con- 
ditions favorable or otherwise to the growing of 
silo crops and to the curing of the same are not 
greatly dissimilar. The division submitted below 
may seem somewhat arbitrary, but it will probably 
be found at least approximately correct. 

Division No. i will cover those portions of the 
United States and Canada east of the Mississippi 
river and Lake Superior, and north of the Ohio and 
Potomac rivers. Division No. 2 will embrace those 
states east of the Mississippi river and south of the 
Ohio and Potomac rivers. Division No. 3 will cover 
the states of the Union and the provinces of Canada 
west of the Mississippi river and Lake Superior. 

In Division No. i, the silo will always render 
greater service than in Divisions Nos. 2 and 3. The 
moist climate that covers much of the area, the rela- 
tively long winters with the rain, sleet and snow that 
characterize them, and the general diffusion of 
dairying throughout the division, emphasize the 
value of the silo. There is no state of the Union, or 
province of Canada included in this division in which 
the silo may not be made to render excellent service, 
especially to those who keep live stock in any consid- 
erable numbers. 

In Division No. 2 the silo will be less helpful 
relatively than in Division No. i, because of the 
shorter winters and the less attention given to dairy- 
ing, and they will be more helpful than in Section 3, 
because of the more rainy character of the climate. 

In Section No. 3, which covers all the best 
alfalfa producing areas in the United States, silos 



268 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

are needed the least, for reasons already given. In 
a portion of the states which border upon the Mis- 
sissippi river the harvests are practically rainless. 
This is true even of the strip of country west of the 
Cascades in which the precipitation is frequent and 
almost excessive during the season of growth. In 
the same area lumber is also very cheap, hence the 
provision for the storage of crops in the cured form, 
need not be costly. 



CHAPTER III. 

FACTS RELATING TO SILO CONSTRUCTION. 

Before building a silo the most careful con- 
sideration should be given to the location, and form 
of the same, and to many things that have an 
important bearing on the work. These are such as 
relate to the size of the silo ; the materials to be used 
in building it ; the nature of the foundation and of 
the floor required; the character of the lining; the 
necessity for partitions and the method of con- 
structing them; the placing of the doors and also 
their form; and the character of the roof, when a 
roof is necessary. A brief discussion of these 
questions, therefore, will precede what will be given 
in detail in Chapter IV, and, in regular sequence, 
regarding the construction of those forms of the 
silo which experience has shown to be best suited to 
the needs of the farmer. 

Locating the Silo. — The locating of the silo will 
depend on conditions such as relate to the amount 
of barn or stable room available, the relation of the 
stables to the mows, and to other places where food 
is stored, the presence or absence of a basement in a 
barn, and the nature of the climate. 

Other things being equal, the silo should be 
placed as near as possible to the center of feeding, 
when it can be located in close proximity to the 

269 



270 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

mangers in which the food is consumed, the saving 
in the labor of feeding is very great, as compared 
with the same when the silo is more distant. The 
location of the silo, therefore, should be given the 
most careful thought. 

In cold latitudes the necessity for good barns 
and warm stables is much greater than in those that 
are mild. In the former, therefore, it will be much 
easier to find room for the silo inside than under 
conditions the opposite. When the silo can con- 
veniently be built under cover, that is to say, when it 
can be made a part of the barn, it ought to be so 
built. Locating it thus should prove economical, 
as it will not require to be roofed, unless the top of 
the silo should project up above the roof of the build- 
ing of which it forms a part. The wall of the build- 
ing may usually be made to form one wall of the silo, 
when the latter is square or rectangular in shape. 
The exposed surface of the silage, when it is being 
fed, will usually be sufficiently protected from frost, 
and the work of feeding may be done without 
discomfort in the coldest weather. 

A basement barn furnishes ideal conditions for 
building a silo when the stables for the stock are in 
the basement, and, in passing, it may be mentioned 
that when basement barns are properly planned, they 
are economical of space, in cost of roofing material, 
and also in construction, at least when their greater 
duration is taken into account. They are also labor 
saving while the food is being fed, and they are a 
source of much comfort to the animals kept in them 
in summer, as well as in winter, when the manage- 
ment is as it ought to be. These opinions may not 



FACTS RELATING TO SILO CONSTRUCTION. 27 1 

be generally accepted, but it is more than doubtful if 
any one of them can be gainsaid. 

The silo may be made to occupy a section of 
the basement, and it may be located in the center of 
one side of the same, or in the center of that 
part occupied by live stock. In round, or octagonal 
barns, the silo is usually placed in the center. In all 
instances in which the silo is built in the basement 
it is made to extend upward also into the barn over 
the basement, and in any event, the doors should 
open into a feed room or passageway. It is usually 
more convenient to handle the food when the silo 
can be located so that it will be adjacent to the room 
in which meal and other food is mixed for the stock. 
In outbuildings without a basement, the silo may be 
made to occupy a part of the bay or mow, but under 
these conditions it can seldom be located so con- 
veniently for feeding as in a basement, for reasons 
that will be manifest. And usually the roof of the 
silo will of necessity be above the roof of the out- 
building, in order to secure sufficient hight in the 
silo. 

When the silo must needs be located outside 
the barn or stable, it should be placed as near to it 
as possible. If square or rectangular it may be 
built against the outbuilding. The wall of the 
latter duly lined will then form one wall of the 
silo. The doors will then open into the outbuild- 
ing. If the silo is round, it should, if possible, be 
placed near to the outbuilding. The distance 
therefrom should at most be not more than a few 
feet. A roofed passageway may then be con- 
structed from the silo to the outbuilding, and into 



2^2 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

this passageway the doors of the silo should open. 
The passageway should he amply provided with 
light. When silos are located outside the barn, 
stable or shed m which live stock are fed it is simply 
impossible to locate them so conveniently to the 
center of feeding as when they form a part of one 
or the other of those buildings. 

Diifcrcnt Forms of Construction. — In form, 
silos have been built square, rectangular, octagonal, 
and round or circular. Until within a comparatively 
recent period the rectangular form was usualh'' 
adopted by those who built silos, but, since about 
1890 the round silo has come so generally into favor 
that in a very considerable degree it is superseding 
the rectangular mode of construction. 

The square silo may be somewhat more cheaply 
constructed than the rectangular silo of equal ca- 
pacity, since tlie wall space is not so much. When 
the conditions are suitable for placing it, and where 
the size is nicely adjusted to the amount of silage 
required, the square silo would seem preferable to 
the rectangular form. But if a division is to be 
made in the silo, it will prove more costly to make 
it than in a rectangular silo, since the space across 
it is relatively greater. Both square and rectan- 
gular silos are more commonly placed inside of a 
barn or stable, and within these it is not generally 
so easy to secure space of the proper dimensions for 
a square as for a rectangular silo. 

The rectangular silo has been found specially 
adapted for being placed within a building that is in 
process of erection or that is already built. When 
wanted, partitions can be put into it at a minimum of 



FACTS RELATING TO SILO CONSTRUCTION. 273 

cost, because of its shape. The objections to the 
rectangular as well as to the square silo are, first, 
that difficulty has oftentimes been found in keeping 
the walls from spreading, and so letting air into the 
silage, and second, that the silage does not settle so 
readily in either of these forms of silo as in a round 
silo, hence there is more waste in the silage. Par- 
ticularly is this true of the corners. Notwithstand- 
ing these objections, rectangular silos will probably 
be built for many years to come, hence the method 
of building them will in due time be given with 
some minuteness in details. x\nd what will be said 
of the construction of rectangular silos will also 
apply to the construction of square silos. 

The octagonal silo as the name implies is a silo 
with eight sides. The chief advantage gained in 
this form of construction, as compared with the 
square or rectangular silo is found in the less acute 
character of the angles within the same. Also from 
the nature of their construction, the walls are so 
strong that they are not liable to spread, at least, 
not in a silo of ordinary dimensions. Moreover, 
some saving in lumber is effected by increasing the 
space between the girts from the bottom upwards. 
But there are two strong objections to this form of 
silo. First, it is ill adapted to being placed within a 
building because of its shape, and second, the ven- 
tilation of the spaces within the walls is difficult, 
because of the peculiar construction of the frame. 
The lining is nailed onto girts rather than onto up- 
right studs, and these girts being horizontal when 
in position in the wall, give rise to the difficulty 
mentioned. Because of these objections, it is not 
18 



2/4 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

probable that octagonal silos will be numerously 
built. 

Round silos can usually be built more cheaply 
than those that are rectangular. They have greater 
relative capacity, and no form of silo can be built that 
to so great an extent facilitates the even settling of 
the silage. The chief objections to round silos are, 
first, that they cannot in many instances be placed 
within a building without loss of space, and second, 
that it is scarcely practical to use partitions in them. 
If the round silo is placed in the center of a circular 
building, its position there will result in no waste 
of space, and but little space will be lost if the silo 
is partly within the building and partly without. 
But when placed in a mow, or bay, or cellar, it may 
not be easy to use to the best advantage the space 
in that part of the square in which the round silo is, 
and which is not covered by the same. In stave 
silos partitions cannot be used, as their presence 
would interfere with the occasional tightening of 
the hoops which is frequently necessary when using 
them. In round silos of frame construction a par- 
tition could be used. But such a partition would 
materially hinder the even settling of the silage. 
Notwithstanding the objections stated, the round 
silo is likely to be the most in favor in the future. 
It will therefore be carefully considered in the proper 
place. 

The Size of Silos. — In determining the size of a 
silo not yet built, several considerations present 
themselves. These include the size of the herd or 
flock which at present and also prospectively is to 
be fed from it, the probable duration of the period 



FACTS RELATING TO SILO CONSTRUCTION. 2/5 

each year during which silage is to be fed, and 
also the settling of the silage after it has been put 
into the silo. 

It should be remembered that if a silo is to be 
filled quickly, the silage will settle to about one- 
third of its entire depth. If material is added for 
silage a second time and perhaps a third time, it mav 
be possible to have the settled silage fill the silo to at 
least three-fourths of the entire hight of the same. 
This, however, will vary with the hight of the silo. 
The deeper the silo the less will be the unoccupied 
space at the top when the silage has settled. The 
capacity of the empty silo, therefore, will be about 
twenty-five per cent, more than that of the filled silo, 
and this fact should not be overlooked in determining 
the size of the silo about to be built. Twenty-five 
per cent, may be considered too large an allowance 
for loss of space in the settling of the silage, but 
something will have to be added for waste from 
spoiled silage while curing, and from exposure in 
feeding, hence, a silo should usually be built with at 
least one-fourth greater capacity than would suffice 
to supply the needs of the stock, could it be filled to 
the top with good silage. 

The amount of silage that may be fed daily to 
a dairy cow varies from, say thirty to fifty pounds 
per day. Forty pounds per day may be set down as 
average. The weight of a cubic foot of settled 
silage varies with the depth of the silo and the part 
from which it is taken and also with the amount of 
moisture in the silage. The variation runs from 
say thirty to fifty pounds. It would therefore be 
at least approximately correct to say that a cubic 



2y6 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

foot of settled silage will weigh about forty pounds, 
or, in other words, that a cubic foot of such silage 
will supply a head of cattle with all that it ought to 
have of that kind of food for one day. On such a 
basis the proper size for a silo not yet built can easily 
be computed. 

If the silo is square or oblong, the length in feet 
inside multiplied by the width and again by the 
hight, will give the entire number of cubic feet in 
the silo. The number of days during which an 
animal is to be fed on the basis stated above multi- 
plied by one will give the number of cubic feet of 
silage required to feed one animal for the requisite 
time. This divided into the cubic feet in the silo 
after one- fourth has been deducted from the same, 
will give the whole number of cows to be f^d thus 
for the time fixed upon. 

For example : — Suppose a silo is to be built to 
meet the needs of twenty cows for six months in the 
year. One cow will consume the silage in i8o 
cubic feet in that time if fed forty pounds of silage 
daily, and twenty cows will consume the silage in 
3,600 cubic feet. But since one- fourth of the space 
is waste one-third of 3,600 cubic feet or 1,200 cubic 
feet must be added to give the capacity of the silo 
required which would make 4,800 cubic feet. Now 
suppose twenty-five feet is fixed upon as the hight 
for the silo and twelve feet as the width inside, one 
foot in length of such a silo will hold 300 cubic 
feet of silage. To hold 4,800 cubic feet therefore 
would require s silo sixteen feet long inside. 

To find the contents of a round silo in cubic 
feet, multiply the square of the diameter, in feet, 



FACTS RELATING TO SILO CONSTRUCTION. 277 

by the hight in feet, then multiply the product by 
.7854 which gives the cubic contents. For example, 
suppose it is required to find the contents in cubic 
feet of a round silo fifteen feet in diameter and 
twenty feet high, the square of fifteen, the diameter, 
equals 225, which multiplied by the hight, twenty 
feet, gives 4,500. This multiplied by .7854 gives 
3534.3 cubic feet. But one- fourth must be allowed 
for waste space and vs^aste silage, which leaves 
2650.725 cubic feet as the capacity of the silo for 
good silage. This silage will average about forty 
pounds to the cubic foot which will give 106,029 
pounds or 53 tons. 

While it may be easily possible to adjust the 
size of the silo to the present or prospective needs 
of the stock, it is sometimes wiser to build two or 
more silos rather than to try to put all the silage 
into one. In feeding silage, alDOUt two inches irKiepth 
of the exposed surface should be removed daily to 
prevent waste from unduly prolonged exposure, and 
when feeding silage in warm weather, about three 
inches of the same should be removed daily. In a 
large silo such a depth of surface would probably be 
in excess of the needs of the stock. In such an 
instance, therefore, it would be better to erect two 
small silos, if built on the plan of the round structure, 
than to build one large silo of equal capacity. But 
in rectangular silos the difficulty mentioned may be 
obviated by putting in one or more partitions. 

Materials Used in Silos.— -Silos differ first, 
in the materials used in their construction, and 
second in the form given to them. The materials 
that have been used in building silos include wood. 



278 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

stone, concrete or grout, bricks and metal. More 
than one class of the materials named is sometimes 
used in building the same silo. They are desig- 
nated chiefly by the material used in their construc- 
tion. For instance a stone silo though lined with 
bricks is usually spoken of as a stone silo. 

Metal silos, according to Prof. Woll, are built of 
homogenous steel plate, lapped and double riveted 
so as to make them tight. They are objectionable, 
at present, because of their cost ; because of the ease 
with which frost penetrates them and because of 
the quickness with which they corrode. It has been 
computed that they cost about twice as much as 
stone silos of similar capacity, while the latter are 
much more enduring. Being easily penetrated by 
frost, this one objection would render them unsuit- 
able for use in a northern climate. Nor has any 
preservative been found up to the present time that 
can be applied to them inside which will effectively 
resist for any lengthened period the corroding in- 
fluences of the silage juices. Because of these 
objections, metal silos will not be further considered. 

Concrete or grout silos have the walls made of 
small stones held together by well tempered mortar. 
In localities where the materials of construction 
abound, it may be proper to use them, but since in 
cold climates the walls must be protected by an outer 
lining of wood with an air space between, their 
construction, at the best, is costly. When used they 
should be built circular in form, if practicable in the 
location chosen, to facilitate the even settling of the 
silage, and they should also be lined inside with 
cement, or, if unprotected outside, with bricks and 



FACTS RELATING TO SILO CONSTRUCTION. 279 

then cement. Since the materials for concrete silos 
are only found in certain localities, and since the 
essential features of construction are the same as in 
stone silos described later, the building of concrete 
silos will not be further discussed. 

Brick silos, as the name would indicate, are made 
of bricks. They have not been extensively tried, 
it may be, because of the costliness of the material. 
In northerly latitudes they too would also probably 
require a lining of boards on the outside to keep out 
the frost, as is sometimes the case with concrete and 
stone silos, but the walls could, of course, be made 
thick enough to protect the silage unless such a 
method should prove too costly. In some instances 
stone silos have been lined with bricks and with 
manifest advantage. This feature of the use of 
bricks in silo construction will be referred to again. 
Stone silos are, of course, built of stone and mor- 
tar. Almost any kind of stone of suitable dimen- 
sions may be used in their construction. The 
chief objection to stone silos is their costliness. 
Notwithstanding, when the wide distribution of 
stone is considered and when its durability is also 
taken into account, it would seem to be eminently 
adapted to the building of silos. In the southern 
half of the United States the outside lining of wood, 
which some authorities claim is necessary in the 
northern states, could certainly be dispensed with. 
Experience is further demonstrating the fact that 
stone silos may also be erected in the northern states 
without the necessity of protecting them with an 
outer lining of wood. -( See Page 320. ) Stone silos 
are therefore likely to grow in favor. The mode of 



28o SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

building them therefore will be discussed at some 
length. (See Page 317.) 

Wood silos are such as are constructed wholly 
of wood, but usually resting on a foundation of 
■stone or concrete. Because of the relative cheap- 
ness of construction in the past, there is an over- 
whelming preponderance in the number of the silos 
that have been built of wood. The kinds of wood 
chiefly used in their construction have been pine in- 
certain of its species, as the white and yellow, the 
southern cypress and the Douglas fir. But any kind 
of wood will answer that is durable, cheap and that 
does not warp. The spruce of the Puget Sound 
country would probably prove very suitable and 
possibly the hemlock also. The chief objection to 
wood silos is their want of durability. In the not 
distant future they must also become more costly 
with the increasing dearness of lumber, and as they 
do stone silos will grow m favor. The construction 
of certain forms of the wood silo will be discussed 
at some length. 

Foundation for Silos. — Whatever the form of 
silo built, it ought to rest on a foundation that is not 
subject to decay. The foundation therefore should 
not be of wood. Stone will be the material most 
commonly used, though there may be some instances 
in which bricks would be even less costly. Usually 
the foundation is sunk beneath the line of frost, but 
this is not always necessary. In soils which hold 
much water, every care should be taken to carry it 
away, as fast as it accumulates, by tiles laid for the 
purpose. When silos are sunk into the ground, it 
is not necessary to have the foundation go down 



FACTS RELATING TO SILO CONSTRUCTION. 251 

more deeply than the floor of the silo. And the 
wall up to the surface should be of stone whatever 
may be the materials used in the structure above 
the ground. If the wall is carried up for a short 
distance above the surface of the ground, and is then 
banked with earth it will be better protected from 
surface water. The aim should be to keep the wood 
portion of silos away entirely from contact with the 
earth lest decay should be induced. The founda- 
tion is usually made wider than the structure which 
it sustains, but not in all instances. The precise 
character of the foundation for the different forms 
of silos discussed will be explained when treating of 
these. (See Pages 297, 310 and 318.) 

Floors in Silos. — If the earth that forms the 
floor of a silo is dry all the year, no other floor is 
needed unless rats should begin to make trouble. It 
there is a liability to the presence of an undue 
amount of moisture, measures must be taken to 
carry it away, or much damage will result to the 
silage. Tiles may be laid around inside the silo and 
at some distance from the wall. Provision must 
then be mad^ for carrying away the water that col- 
lects in these through some outlet which leads to 
lower ground. And where grout and cement floors 
are made in silos, the necessity for drainage is all 
the greater in order to protect the floors as well as 
the silage. In silos built on the level, drainage is 
not usually necessary. And in many instances it 
will be found that the drainage made to protect the 
wall will also furnish sufficient drainage for the 
floor of the silo. 

When it is thought best to put in a floor, the 



202 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

materials may consist of what is termed grout or 
concrete. The cement floor may be made by cov- 
ering the ground to the depth of several inches with 
coarse gravel or small stones. These are covered 
with a good coating of water lime, not less than two 
or three inches, and over all is put a layer of good 
cement of say half an inch or more in thickness. 
Where bricks are used they should be laid in cement, 
and two layers would probably prove more satis- 
factory than one. Floors so expensive however 
are seldom necessary. 

It has been claimed that the floor of the silo 
should slope downward toward the center to facili- 
tate the even settling of the silage, but whether the 
end thus sought is certainly attained can scarcely be 
said to have been proved. When silo floors are 
thus shaped, drainage where it is necessary, should 
lead from the center. If the floor is rather higher 
at the center than the sides, then drainage into tiles 
laid around inside the walls would be facilitated. 

Linings for Silos. — The various materials that 
have been used for lining silos include boards, ce- 
ment, water lime, shingles, brick, metal and tarred 
paper. 

Board linings are by far the most frequently 
used in silos, and except in the case of cement they 
have been found the best. Various forms of board 
linings have been used. The best results have been 
obtained from using one thickness of matched lum- 
ber with tarred paper under it, or two thicknesses of 
matched boards with tarred paper between. The first 
is of course the cheaper method and should there- 
fore be given the preference wherever it will suflice 



FACTS RELATING TO SILO CONSTRUCTION. 283 

to exclude frost. The surface of the boards should 
be smooth to facilitate the settling of the silage. 

Cement lirxing has on the whole proved satis- 
factory, more especially on silos built of stone and 
lined, or not lined with bricks. More commonly it is 
used to line stone, brick or grout silos. The acids 
in the silage have in many instances softened the 
cement on the surface next to the silage, so thai 
to a greater or a less extent, the cement particles 
have crumbled. Because, of this it has been recom- 
mended to apply cement every alternate year, or as 
often as necessary, as whitewash is applied. One 
instance however is reported in which the cement 
has not crumbled thus. W. C. Edwards, M. P., of 
Rockland, Ont., built a stone silo in 1890. Inside 
it was lined with bricks and the bricks were in turn 
lined with Portland cement of a good quality. In 
a recent letter to the Author, Mr. Edwards says: 
"We have not applied whitewash or cement at any 
time to our silo walls since the silo was first built. 
There has been no cracking whatever or falling off 
of the cement." This one fact coming as it does, 
from a reliable source, would raise a doubt as to 
whether the scaling off reported in the experience 
of many, has not been caused by using an inferior 
quality of cement, or by not properly preparing it 
for use. The question will stand further investiga- 
tion. 

Water lime has not proved serviceable as a lin- 
ing for silos. It has been found that the acetic 
and lactic acids in the silage dissolve out the lime 
particles, thus leaving the lining a layer of crumbling 
sand. In this condition it very readily absorbs silage 



284 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

juices, and is so easily penetrated by the tines of 
the fork used in handHng the silage, that much of it 
scales off. 

Plaster is even more objectionable than water 
lime, more especially when applied to wooden walls. 
It disintegrates even more readily and therefore peels 
off more easily. The springing of the wooden walls 
cracks the plaster when it occurs. The acids wet 
the lining and render it more liable to injury from 
frost, and when they penetrate to the underlying 
lath they hasten its decay. 

Shingles answer fairly well for lining, but they 
add to the expense of the same. Where shingles are 
used, matched lumber and tarred paper must also be 
used, hence lining with shingles would seem to be 
superfluous, and there is more or less danger that 
they will be loosened or torn off by the fork in remov- 
ing the silage. 

Bricks not coated with cement do not make a 
good lining for the silo. They become damp and 
do not sufficiently exclude the air, but they would 
seem to be much less objectionable than unplastered 
stone, even though the stones were smooth. Bricks 
draw dampness too easily and do not readily exclude 
frost. Much of the silage adjacent to such walls 
would spoil and in time the acids from the silage 
juices would cause the mortar between the stones 
to crumble and would thus make the walls rough. 
Brick or stone walls should be kept lined with a high 
quality of cement. 

Metal lining for silos has not thus far proved 
a success. Sheet iron and tin have been tried. Pro- 
fessor F. H. King, of the Wisconsin Experiment 



FACTS RELATING TO SILO CONSTRUCTION. 285 

Station, who is high authority on such questions, has 
said that none of the available metals are in them- 
selves proof against the acids of the silo and that it 
is scarcely possible to make paint adhere to them. 
In the meantime therefore expenditure on such lin- 
ings would be unwise. 

Lining with tarred paper has also proved unsatis- 
factory. It cannot be kept in place without more 
or less of furring, and this interferes with the settling 
of the silage. The paper is also adversely affected 
with the silage juices, and this in turn injuriously 
affects the wood under it. 

The stave silo from the very nature of its con- 
struction does not call for any kind of lining, and 
this is in itself a strong argument in its favor. 

Perservatives for Linings. — It was popular at 
one time to apply some preservative to the inner 
lining of silos in the hope of better preserving the 
wood in the same. The more common of these 
include coal tar applied alone while hot, or with 
resin added, or dissolved in gasoline and boiled 
linseed oil. It is also applied with black oil added 
equal in quantity to the coal tar. It has not yet 
been demonstrated that any of these applications 
have materially aided in promoting the end sought. 
It has even been thought that in some instances their 
application hastened decay. The fact is simply 
stated without waiting to give the reasons. When 
these so-called preservatives are used they may be 
applied with a suitable form of mop or whisk broom. 

In stone silos the cement lining may, when 
necessary, be made to last longer by applying a white- 
wash of cement as often as the lining shows any 



286 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

indications of crumbling, 1)ut the fact would now 
seem to be assured that where a heavy coat of cement 
of good quality is applied to the inner wall of a stone 
silo, it will last many years without any renewal. 

Partitions in Silos. — It may be regarded as an 
open question whether partitions should be used at 
all in silos. The more these are increased the more 
-will corners be multiplied, the greater will be the 
resistance offered to the even settling of the silage. 
They also add to the cost of the silo and unless 
strongly built they must needs be braced on one side 
while the silo is being filled, or filling must take 
place in a sense simultaneously on both sides of the 
partition. In round silos whatever may be the mode 
of construction, partitions are objectionable since 
they make corners where otherwise there would be 
none, and in the stave silo they cannot be used. It 
is further claimed that they are not necessary, since 
after the silage has settled one section of it may ])e 
fed at a time without great los^s providing it is cut 
down perpendicularly with a sharp hay knife, on the 
other hand partitions may be so built as to become 
an important source of strength to rectangular silos 
as is shown in Chapter IV. It has been argued that 
it would be better to build a second silo than to put 
a partition in one, but this view is certainly not 
correct except in the case of round silos, since one 
large silo can be built with a partition more cheaply 
than two small ones without one. 

WHien partitions are used they may be con- 
structed variously, i, They may be built the same 
as the walls of the silo, that is to say, with studding 
lined with matched boards having tarred paper 



FACTS RELATING TO SILO CONSTRUCTION. 287 

underneath. The studs may be less in size than the 
wall studs, and the dead air space should be left open 
above except when the silo is being filled to lesson 
the liability to decay. Iron rods may be made to 
run through the studs in the partition with some 
form of washer running up and down the wall for 
some distance on either side of the silo. These walls 
would very effectively keep the walls of the silo 
from spreading. 2, Partitions may be made by 
spiking 2x4 scantlings on top of one another from 
the bottom of the silo upwards. Iron rods may also 
be used in this form of partition. They may run 
along in grooves, made for them in the scantlings. 
3, Partitions may be made in narrow silos by 
using planks two inches thick. These are held in 
place by grooves made in upright timbers which are 
duly fastened to the wall at either end. If these 
timbers are beveled away from the grooves the 
settling of the silage in the corners will be facilitated. 
The grooves may also be made by spiking two scant- 
lings three cornered in shape to the wall at a suit- 
able distance from one another. They can be ob- 
tained by sawing a scantling diagonally from end 
to end. When partitions are made, the boards, 
scantlings or f)lanks used in making them should 
be planed on the side which comes in contact with 
the silage, to facilitate the settling of the same. When 
the silage has settled and is then fed out from one 
side of the partition, the pressure against the latter 
from the silage on the other side is not likely to 
disturb it seriously. It is only when the silo is being 
filled that this danger must be carefully guarded 
against. 



288 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

Doors in Silos. — Whatever the nature of the 
silo the doors have some features in common. These 
inckule the following: i, They should usually 
he placed one ahove the other and on that side of 
the silo contiguous to the passageway. There 
ma}^ be instances in which it may be necessary to 
have doors on the opposite side of a large silo, but 
tl-fcs.e will be infrequent. 2, The aim should be 
to confine the number of the doors within the limits 
of strict necessity because of the difficulty of exclud- 
ing air at the openings thus made. 3, When it 
can be m.ade so, the door inside should have a beveled 
rim fitting into a corresponding bevel on the door 
when the door is in place. The bevel on the door 
should be from the inner rim outward. When a 
door is thus beveled the greater the pressure of the 
silage against it the more perfectly will the air be 
excluded. Other peculiarities of construction will 
be referred to when discussing the various forms of 
silos described in Chapter IV. 

Roofing Silos. — When built inside of a barn or 
stable it is not necessary to provide a roof for silos. 
When built without, and more especially in climates 
subject to frequent and also to prolonged storms, it 
will probably prove more satisfactory in the end to 
provide some form of the same, and the materials 
to be used will be dependent to a considerable degree 
on the form of the silo. These will be enlarged 
upon when the details of construction in the various 
forms of silos are discussed. 

But it does not seem to be necessary under all 
conditions to provide even outdoor silos with a roof. 
The opinion prevails that not to do so would result 



FACTS RELATING TO SILO CONSTRUCTION. 269 

in much inconvenience and loss from storms, and 
that in cold climates much loss would result from the 
freezing of the silage. Nevertheless, in western 
Ontario and probably elsewhere, many stave silos 
have been erected which have not been provided 
with a roof. These are between the forty-third 
and forty-fifth parallels of north latitude, and some 
of them have been in use for several years. The 
owners claim that no serious inconvenience or loss 
has occurred from the causes named. The heat 
generated in the silage seems to be sufficient, except 
in very extreme weather, to protect the same from 
injury by frost. When the winter climate is colder 
than that of southern Ontario, there would probably 
be inconvenience and loss from frost in roofless 
silos. On the other hand, if, in the wide areas 
further to the south, it should be found that such 
silos meet the ends sought, it may not be necessary 
under certain conditions to go to the expense of 
building a roof. 

Decay in Silos. — Many of the earlier silos were 
built of wood and lined with boards. Those built 
of stone were also in some instances lined with wood. 
The lining in many of them, as shown by Prof. F. 
H. King in Bulletin No. lo of the Wisconsin Ex- 
periment station, showed some decay at the end of 
the second filling. It would probably be correct to 
say that the lining in silos will decay in proportion. 
I, As sealed dead air spaces are enclosed between 
the linings of the walls; 2, as stone walls are faced 
inside with wood; 3, as inner lining boards come 
against sills, beams or girts; 4, as spoiled silage is 
left piled against the lining within the silo; and 5, 
19 



290 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

as earth is banked against the outer Hning. Sealed 
dead air spaces have been made by putting strips 
of furring laid on tarred paper between the two 
thicknesses of boards which form the inner lining of 
the silo, and by lining stone silos wath wood inside so 
as to have a space between the boards and the 
wood. These can be avoided, as experience has 
shown that a single lining of wood with tarred paper 
under is usually a sufficient protection to the silage 
w^hen the Avooden silo has also an outer lining of 
boards, and that in stone silos frost can usually be 
warded off by lining with bricks inside coated with 
cement. But dead air spaces must needs be made 
in the walls of wooden silos wdth studding lined 
within and without, and also when stone silos are 
lined w^ithout. These can however be easily pre- 
vented by providing ventilation. 

Such ventilation may be furnished by making 
the sills and plates a little narrower than the studs. 
Openings thus made for the escape of the air below 
and above should of course be next to the outside 
sheeting. Where provision is not thus made for 
ventilation, it may 1:»e made by boring a small hole 
through the outer lining below and above and into 
the space between each pair of studs. Openings 
thus made should be protected by some kind of wire 
netting to prevent depredation from rats and mice. 
Moreover, if no ventilation is provided in a silo 
underneath the roof or in the roof, decay will be 
rapid from the abundance of the gases which rise 
up out of the fermenting silage. 

Notw^ithstanding tl^- rapid decay in many of 
the earlier silos, it is easily possible to build wooden 



FACTS RELATING TO SILO CONSTRUCTION. 29 1 

silos SO as to resist decay for many years. The 
first silo built by Mr. John Gould, Aurora Station, 
O., has not been repaired since it was constructed 
in 1884, and it is still in a good state of preservation. 
Since the stave silo has no dead air spaces, it is ex- 
pected that it will better resist decay than silos that 
are lined, but some time must elapse before this 
will be certainly known. Nor is it ordinarily 
necessary to create dead air spaces in stone silos. 
When properly built, therefore, they should last for 
generations. 



CHAPTER IV. 



BUILDING THE SILO. 



But three kinds of silos will be considered in 
this chapter, viz., the round wooden silo, the square 
or rectangular wooden silo, and the round stone silo, 
and, for the reason that nearly all, if not indeed 
all, the silos erected in the future will pretty 
certainly be built on one or the other of these 
plans. The Author inclines to the belief that nearly 
all the silos built in the immediate future will be 
made of staves held in place by hoops, hence it will 
be the aim to give the necessary information 
relating to the building of these with some degree 
of minuteness. 

THE ROUND WOODEN SILO. 

When all the conditions are favorable for locat- 
ing the round silo, that form of silo should be chosen. 
It has the following advantages: — i. It is more 
cheaply bu'ilt than the square or rectangular silo 
since it requires less material whether built of staves 
or otherwise. Even when built with a frame there 
is much saving in studding material, because of the 
less size of the studs used. 2, The circular form 
is much more favorable to the even settling of the 
silage, and therefore more favorable to its perfect 
preservation. This arises, in part at least, from the 

292 



BUILDING THE SILO. 293 

entire absence of corners in the silo. 3, The tend- 
ency in the walls to spread is entirely taken away. 
In the stave silo the hoops when kept properly in 
place prevent such a result, and in round silos built 
with a frame the lining w^ithin and without has a 
similar effect. 

Of the two kinds of round silos, viz., that kept 
in place by hoops, or the silo built with a frame, the 
Author most unhesitatingly prefers the former and 
for the following reasons: — i. It is more simple in 
its construction and can be built more economically 
than the other form of round silo. 2, It is easier to 
exclude the air, because of the opportunity that is 
always present to tighten the hoops when necessary. 
3, It is believed that decay will be less rapid in the 
stave silo. And 4, Experience has already demon- 
strated that the frost will penetrate some forms of 
the round frame silo more easily than a silo made of 
staves. The advantages of the stave silo therefore 
over the round silo are so clearly drawn that it would 
probably be safe to predict that the former though of 
more recent introduction is likely to almost entirely 
supersede the latter. Since, however, the round 
frame silo still has some advocates, it may be well 
to give in brief outline the essential features of con- 
struction in building the same. 

BUILDING THE ROUND FRAME SILO. 

The round frame silo consists of a framework 
of studding resting on a stone foundation and linerl 
within and without with boards laid over tarred or 
building paper. The frame rests on wooden sills 



BUILDING THE SILO. 295 

which of course must be circular in form. It is not 
necessary to have studs of greater size than 2x4 
inches, nor is it necessary to have them so close as 
in the rectangular silo. The inside should be lined 
with two thicknesses of boards put on horizontally 
and with joints broken in the same. The boards 
sjiould be about six inches wide and half an inch 
thick, and should have tarred or building paper 
between the two layers, or underneath the 
layer adjacent to the studs. In cold climates it 
would probably be necessary to have paper on the 
inside of the studs and also between the board lin- 
ings. In mild climates one thickness of boards laid 
on tarred paper would probably suffice for the inner 
lining. The outer lining may consist of the same 
material put on as drop siding and with tarred paper 
underneath or otherwise, according to the nature of 
the climate. Ventilation must be provided. (See 
Page 290. ) When the silo is built inside there may 
be some conditions in which it will not be necessary 
to put on any outer lining. The roof, like the silo, 
will be circular, and it will usually be necessary to 
have a roof w^hen the silo is built outside. 

BUILDING THE STAVE SILO. 

The stave silo may be located within or with- 
out although more commonly it is placed outside 
of the stable or barn. Sometimes it is located in 
one corner of the outbuilding partly within and 
partly without the same. It may of course be made 
large or small and may go down into the ground or 
be placed on the surface. In building it there is 



296 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 




Fig. 30. Section of Stave Silo, showing Foundation Floor and Splicing 
of Staves 



BUILDING THE SILO. 297 

much latitude in choice of material for staves, in 
character of hoops and in furnishing- of the roof. 

The Foundation. — The character of the founda- 
tion for the stave silo should be determined largely 
by the character of the soil, and the size of the silo. 
Stave silos have been placed on the surface of the 
ground without any excavations whatever other than 
that made by removing a few inches of the soft 
surface soil. But in such instances they have stood 
on a double thickness of bricks laid first in mortar 
and then in cement. The mortar below should rest 
on broken stones or gravel. This plan would seem 
to answer where the soil is perfectly dry and the 
silo is of moderate dimensions. In other instances 
the wall is sunk several inches, that is to say, far 
enough to go down to a firm subsoil. This plan 
will probably suffice where the subsoil is dry and 
winter frosts are not severe. In yet other instances 
the wall goes down a little lower than the frost is 
expected to penetrate. The wall should be sunk 
thus far in all soils that are liable to be much dis- 
turbed by the action of the frost. When it is neces- 
sary to sink the wall several feet below the surface 
of the ground, it will usually prove economical in 
the end to excavate inside the wall to the same depth 
to which the wall has been sunk. But when thus 
excavated care must be taken to have the inner sur- 
face of the wall made smooth with a lining of cement, 
and to have the circle made by the inside of the 
staves correspond exactly with the circle of the 
stonework when lined as indicated. 

The stone foundation should not be less than 
two feet broad and should come up several inches 



298 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

above the surface of the ground. Flat stones are 
preferable to round ones, but round stones will 
answer. The wall may be flat on top, but many 
favor making a shoulder on the outside as shown in 
figure 30. The staves of the silo should stand inside 
the shoulder and close against it. If, when the 
hoops are drawn tightly, the staves should be drawn 
away from the shoulder, the space should be filled 
by pouring thin cement into it. 

When building the foundation wall, some 
authorities recommend digging a trench of the de- 
sired depth and filling it with stones, putting the 
largest stones in the bottom. Smaller stones are 
worked into the intervening spaces, or they are filled 
with gravel. In either case they are pounded down 
until quite firm. When the wall is finished, a thin 
cement is made and poured over the wall so 
as to go down in the interstices. When it has 
set, stronger cement is spread over the surface 
with a trowel. It is questionable, however, if 
cement thus applied has any advantage in cheap- 
ness or otherwise over the good old-fashioned 
mortar for holding in place the stones of a foun- 
dation wall. 

When a shoulder is not used on the wall the 
time for striking a circle to serve as a guide in set- 
ting up the staves is opportune, while the cement or 
mortar on top of the foundation wall is still soft. 
In making it a stake may be driven into the center 
of the floor of the silo. The circle on the wall is 
then marked by some suitable implement attached 
to a cord which moves around on the central pivot 
while the circle is being marked. 



BUILDING THE SILO. 299 

The Floor. — The floor may be of earth where 
the soil is dry, of concrete covered with cement or 
even without such a covering, or of bricks laid in 
cement. (See Page 282.) Where the soil is dry 
earth would answer well enough for a floor were it 
not for the danger arising from depredations of rats 
and mice especially the former. Because of this 
danger, the propriety of making a floor secure 
against such depredations should be carefully con- 
sidered. 

The Staves. — The staves should be of some 
material that is relatively cheap and that is not too 
difficult to obtain. At the present time, white pine 
is probably the favorite wood in the northern states, 
cypress in the southern states and the Douglas fir in 
those of the far west. But other kinds of pine may 
be used, as the red, the yellow, the Norway and the 
southern, and also other soft woods, as spruce and 
hemlock. It is important that the material shall 
be sound and free from knots that are liable to drop 
out, and seasoned himber is preferable to that not 
seasoned. 

The most suitable size for the staves will be at 
least measurably dependent on the size of the silo 
and the character of the climate. The larger the 
silo the broader may the staves be, and the warmer 
the climate the less is the thickness required. Six 
inches may be named as the maximum limit for the 
w4dth of the staves and four inches as the minimum. 
The usual thickness is two inches, but in mild cli- 
mates one and one-half inches will suffice. Where 
the material can be obtained at reasonable prices, the 
staves should be as long as the silo is high, but since 



300 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

such lumber is frequently relatively costly and diffi- 
cult to get, it may frequently be necessary to pur- 
chase staves of two different lengths and to splice 
them. Where practicable, the staves should be 
sized, and when they are to be spliced the necessity 
for thus sizing them is increased. Where this can- 
not be done, care must be taken to keep them even 
inside when putting them in place. It is absolutely 
necessary that they shall be planed on the inside and 
also at the sides, but it will be advantageous also 
to have them planed on the outside if they are to be 
painted. It is not necessary to bevel them on the 
sides unless the diameter of the silo should be quite 
small. It is thought that even tighter joints are 
secured in the absence of beveling, nor is it necessary 
to tongue and groove the staves. 

Setting Up the Staves. — In setting up the 
staves, various methods have been adopted. That 
now described is one of the simplest : — Erect a scaf- 
fold by setting up scantlings at the corners of a square 
that will exactly enclose the silo. Then just outside 
the outer circle of the silo and at the points where 
it touches each side of the square, set up smaller 
scantlings. Those at the corners may be 4x4 inches 
and those intermediate 2x4 inches, but scantlings of 
other dimensions may be used so long as they are 
strong enough to answer the end sought. Whether 
or not these scantlings splice by o^^erlapping they 
should go ivi abcnit as far as the silo is to be high, 
and they should be set exactly plumb. They are 
held in position by boards nailed on the outside. 
Boards one-half inch tliick are then nailed on the 
inside of the four intermediate uprights. AMien in 



BUILDING THE SILO, 30I 

position they form a crude circle. One of these 
circles should be toward the bottom of the silo, and 
one toward the top, and in silos that are high there 
should be a third circle similarly formed midway 
between these. A stave is then set up erect and 
plumb. It is held in position by driving a short nail 
through the hoop into the stave, but the nail 
must not go through the stave. Another stave 
is similarly put up and fastened, and in the same way 
all the staves are set up. As soon as the hoops are 
put on they draw the nails in the temporary hoops 
away from the staves, so that the former are easily 
removed. When in position the staves may be flush 
with the inside of the foundation, may stand in the 
center of the same, or may rest against a shoulder 
of the foundation as may be desired. In Bulletin 
No. 167 of the Cornell university experiment station 
it is recommended that in setting up the staves of a 
silo, four staves shall be used on opposite sides of 
the same which shall be several inches thicker than 
the other staves of the silo. The hoops of the silo 
are carried through these uprights, which makes it 
easily possible to tighten the hoops without the aid 
of keys, but they add materially to the labor of con- 
struction. It would seem to be at least questionable 
if such uprights will come into common use. 

Splicing the Staves. — When it is necessary to 
splice the staves in a silo, one of at least two methods 
may be adopted. First, the ends may be cut squarely 
and with precision in a miter box. In this way a 
reasonably smooth joint is made. The joints where 
the staves thus meet are broken, that is to say, in 
one instance the short stave is put at the top of the 



302 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

silo and in the next at the bottom of the same. The 
short staves should be about one-half the length of 
the lono-er ones. The staves thus alternate all the 
way around the circle. The alternate joints thus 
describe two circles around the silo as shown in Fig. 
30. This form of joint should be covered with flat 
hoops of band iron to aid in excluding the air. 
When the staves have been carefully sized, this form 
of splice may possibly be found to answer, but this 
does not yet appear to have been conclusively proved 
by experience. Whatever may be the form of the splice 
adopted, provision must be made for having it come 
where it will not interfere with doors and where 
the joints may be thus covered with hoops of band 
iron. 

A second form of splice is made similarly, but 
with the following addition: Saw about three- 
fourths of an inch into the end of each stave the 
wide way. A piece of sheet iron of the same width 
as the stave is placed into the incision thus made as 
the ends of the two staves are being brought together 
(see Fig. 31). It may yet be found that sheet iron 
thus used may corrode too quickly. 

Hoops. — At least three kinds of hoops have 
been used in stave silos. These are the round, the 
flat and the woven wire. All three of course are 
iron. Round hoops are usually from five-eighths 
to three-fourths inches in diameter, and are held in 
place by lugs or castings, as shown in Fig 32. 
These have eyes through which the ends of the rods 
come. When it is desired to tighten the hoops, the 
burrs are tightened with a wrench. It is claimed that 
round hoops are more easily tightened than flat ones, 



BUILDING THE SILO. 303 




Fig. 3l. Splice of Stave with Iron Tongue 



304 



SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



but they also cut into the staves, which is somewhat 
objectionable. 

Flat hoops are usually made of band iron one- 
eighth of an inch thick and varying in width from, 
say, two and one-half to three and one-half inches 
with the size of the silo. These two are held in place 
by lugs which differ in some respects from those used 
to hold the round hoops in place, but the principle 
involved is the same. For a silo sixteen feet in 
diameter, each complete hoop wdiich encircles the 




Fig. 32. Lugs for Hoops 

a, Cast-iron lugs for round hoops. 

b. Wedge lug for flat hoops. 



same should consist of two separate pieces, and for 
one with a much greater diameter, of three such 
pieces. There is then less of a strain on the thrends 
while the burrs are being tightened. The lugs of 
the various hoops should also be distributed rather 
than rise one above another in a straight line. 

Woven wire hoops are sometimes used when 
the silos are small. These vary in width with the 
requirements of the silcx The power which some 
kinds of woven wire have to contract and expand 



BUILDING THE SILO. 305 

with the needs of the silo has led to their being used 
by some silo builders. 

The distance of the hoops from one another 
should be regulated almost entirely by the size of 
the silo. The greater the diameter of the silo and 
the higher it is the closer should the hoops be placed, 
especially toward its base. For a silo sixteen feet 
in diameter the lower edge of the first hoop should 
be within about six inches of the base of the staves. 
The space between the lowest hoop and the one next 
above it should be two feet. The space between 
each additional hoop added, and the one next below 
it should increase six inches. But four feet should 
be the limit in distance between any two adjacent 
hoops in such a silo. On the approach of the season 
of filling the silo, it should be examined and the 
hoops tightened when this may be necessary, but it 
should be borne in mind that it is possible to draw 
■ the hoops too tight, since the staves will swell some- 
what after the silo has been filled. 

The Doors. — The doors should be in line, one 
above another. They should be no larger than will 
suffice to admit of the easy ingress and egress of the 
person who removes the silage. Doors eighteen 
by twenty-four inches on the outside will usually be 
amply large. The bottom of the first or lowest door 
should be not less than three feet from the bottom 
of the silo, and in some instances, as when a horse 
cart is used for drawing the silage, it ought to be 
higher than three feet. But when the pit of the silo 
is sunk down some distance below the surface of the 
ground the bottom door should be placed as low as 
possible. The distance between the . doors should 
20 



3o6 



SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



not be less than five feet, and the space for these 
ought to be so calculated as not to interfere with the 
placing of the hoops, and vice versa. 

The doors should be cut out after the staves 
have been put in place and drawn tightly together. 
They should be cut with a bevel on each of the four 
sides and the beveled sides of the door should be 
outward when it is in place. The pressure of the 




a b 

Fig 33. Door of Stave Silo 



a, View of outside of door ; h, side view of door. 



silage when settling will then assist in the exclusion 
of the air at the doors just in proportion to the extent 
to which the said pressure exists. To aid further 
in such exclusion of air, a strip of tarred paper 
should be tacked on each of the beveled edges of 
the door. Before sawing out the door, two cleats 
should be bolted across the staves on the outside. 
These are shown in the door as represented in Fig. 
33. The end of the bolt which receives the burr 



BUILDING THE SILO. 



307 



should be outward, and the heads of the same coun- 
tersunk on the inside. The doors should be carefully 
numbered on the outside so that each will be used 




Fig 34. View of Stave Silo 

With shute, ladder and hand-cart 

only in its proper place, or they may be so fastened 
with chains to the outer wall as to hang suspended 
when for the time being they are not in use. 

The Shute, — In a large majority of instances 



308 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

it will be advantageous to make a shute down which 
the silage falls when it is thrown out at any of the 
doors. The shute is simply a box with three sides, 
extending upward from below, the lower door of 
the silo and covering the doors. The proper size 
will be about two feet square. A ladder should 
extend upward on one side of the shute and inside 
of it on which the person climbs when 'going into or 
coming out of the silo. Usually a floor is put into 
the shute and from this the silage slides outward 
into a cart placed under the same to receive it. 
When the silo stands outside the stable and near to 
the same, the shute should come down into the 
passagev.^ay, as shown in Fig. 34. This passage- 
way between the silo and the building need not be 
more than seven feet high inside. It should have 
windows in it to admit ample light. 

The Roof. — In climates not too cold nor too 
rainy, stave silos may be left without a roof. (See 
Page 288.) For silos that are located quite near 
to the stable, a roof may be made as shown in Bulle- 
tin No. 167 of the Cornell university experiment 
station, that is to say, it may be made as follows : 
Four scantlings suitably placed on the outside of the 
silo may be bolted to the staves of the same. They 
should extend downward some distance from the 
top of the silo and upward some distance above it. 
The pair nearest to the stable should be higher than 
the outer pair. Other scantlings to serve as plates 
or supports to the roof are then spiked across the 
top of each pair of uprights. A third support in 
the same line of ascent is then fastened to the side 
of the stable. Over these supports a roof of boards 




Fig 35. Exterior View of Stave Silo 

With roof and lugs properly distributed. 



3IO 



SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



is constructed, the cracks of which are battened. 

This roof is intended simply to ward off storms and 

would seem to be too costly for the benefits accruing. 
When a roof is wanted, it would seem wiser to 

build a better one, as for instance, on the plan shown 
in Fig 35 ; or a conical roof 
may be constructed as shown 
in Fig 29. The style of roof 
last mentioned, however, re- 
quires some considerable de- 
gree of skill to construct it 
properly. 




o 

u . 

^ o 






^ ':^ 






THE RECTANGULAR SILO. 



The rectaneular and the 



mto 



square silo fits better 
the space obtainable in an 
oblong building than any 
other form of silo that can be 
built. This fact will be at 
once evident if it is remem- 
bered that when thus located 
there is absolutely no other 
Avaste of space than that oc- 
cupied by the walls of the silo. And since one and 
sometimes two walls of the building may be utilized 
when constructing such silos, they will continue to be 
erected, notwithstanding the objections arising from 
the presence of corners and from the liability to 
spread because of the pressure of the silage. 

The Foundation. — Much of what has been said 
with reference to the foundation of the stave silo 



BUILDING THE SILO. 3II 

will apply equally to the foundation of the rectan- 
gular or the square silo. Usually the walls should 
not be less than two feet thick, and as with the stave 
silo they may be sunk into the ground to the depth 
of three to four feet and the space inside excavated 
as a receptacle for silage. (See Page 297.) The 
wall should extend far enough upward to prevent 
the sills from coming anywhere in contact with 
the earth. 

The Sills. — Commonly the sills consist of planks 
of the same material and of the same size as the studs, 
that is to say, of planks 2x10 inches. They are laid 
on the foundation walls and framed so as to overlap 
one another at the corners, and are bolted down to 
the wall by means of upright iron rods or bolts laid 
in the wall while the foundation was being built, as 
shown in Fig. 36. These rods are of iron and they 
should rise up at the corners and at intervals between 
the corners which vary with the size of the silo. 
The favorite distance varies from, say, three to five 
or six feet. If the space inside the foundation walls 
is to be used as a receptacle for silage, the in- 
side of the sills should be so nearly flush with 
the inside of the wall that when both are lined 
the inner wall will be quite plumb where the 
cement lining of the foundation and the wood 
lining of the walls meet. But when the floor 
of the silo is about level with the top of the wall, the 
sills may occupy the central part of the top of the 
wall rather than the space only toward the inner side 
of the same. 

The Floor. — The same general principles are 
to be followed in making the floor of the rectangular 



312 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

silo as in making the floor of the stave silo. (See 
Pages 282 and 299.) 

The Studs. — The size of the studding used in 
the framework of the walls varies with the dimen- 
sions of the silo. The same is true of the spacing 
and bridging of the studs. The larger the silo, and 
more especially the greater its hight, the larger 
should be the studs where no girts are used and the 
more closely should they be spaced and bridged. In 
silos twenty-four to twenty-eight feet high it has 
been found necessary to use studs 2x10 inches or 
3x8 inches, to place them not more than twelve to 
twenty-four inches apart and to bridge between each 
pair of studs in not less than three places. 

By bridging is meant the nailing of short pieces 
of narrow boards or miniature scantlings between 
the studs. They are cut at both ends with a proper 
bevel so that they may be easily nailed to the studs. 
Even when thus constructed, walls have been known 
to spread somewhat. But where partitions are used, 
it is not necessary to use studs so heavy, nor to place 
them so close, since the iron rods which run through 
the partitions effectually aid in preventing spreading. 
The studs are usually toe-nailed to the sills below, 
but in some instances they are mortised into the 
same. When toe-nailed, several large spikes are 
driven into each. Plates of the same material should 
be laid on top of the studs and spiked to them when 
the size of the material will admit of this, but when 
it is of thicker size than the studs, the latter should 
be mortised into the plates. The method more com- 
monly adopted is to simply fasten the studs by 
spiking them both above and below. The plates 



BUILDING THE SILO. 3T3 

should be a little narrower than the studs when an 
outer lining is used to furnish ventilation to the air 
space between the inner and outer linings. The 
plates, like the sills, are put on the four sides of the 
silo and they are also spliced at the corners. 

In building silos in the past, the aim has been 
to get studs as long as the intended hight of the silo, 
but since lumber of such great lengths must con- 
tinually become scarcer and higher in price, of 
necessit}^ more attention will have to be given to the 
use of girts in the future. If girts were made to 
extend around the middle of the silo, the studs would 
only require to be one-half the usual length. If 
mortised into the girts, and moreover, if one or more 
partitions w^ere used, and if one rod in each partition 
were also run through the girts on the sides of the 
silo, spreading would be most effectively prevented. 
The girts, like the plates, should be a little narrow^er 
than the studs in silos with an outer lining, and for 
a similar reason. 

The Inner Lining. — The amount of lining 
required will depend almost entirely on the character 
of the climate. Ordinarily, when rectangular silos 
are built inside, one thickness of boards laid over 
tarred paper will suffice. When but one layer of 
boards is used, the lumber should be jointed and not 
more than one inch thick. Boards not more than 
six to eight inches wide will probably be better than 
those wnder, on the principle that narrow boards for 
flooring are preferable to those wider. The tarred 
paper is tacked onto the studs. The strips of the 
same are put on perpendicularly and are made to 
overlap where they meet on the studs, so that both 



314 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

may be tacked to the stud nearest to the place of 
the overlapping. 

When putting on the lining it is important that 
the boards shall be so put on as to aid in binding the 
corners of the silo. This may be done by having 
each alternate board extend to the outside of the 
studding of the walls which stand at right angles 
w^ith the board. Both ends of each board thus 
extended can then 1)e nailed to a stud properly 
adjusted in each of the two walls just referred to. 
This can only be done, however, when the boards 
used in lining are of an equal width. 

When it is deemed necessary to put on two 
thicknesses of boards, that first put on should be 
nailed directly to the studs and in a horizontal posi- 
tion. These boards need not be planed, but the end 
sought will be better secured if they are jointed. A 
lining of tarred paper is then put on over the boards. 
Over the tarred paper a second lining of jointed 
boards is nailed. Inch boards are commonly used, 
but those somewhat less in thickness will suffice. 
The boards of the second lining should break joints 
with those of the first, as shown in Fig. 36. 

The Outer Lining. — AVhen the silo Is built 
within another building, no outer lining is usually 
necessary. When one or two sides of the building 
also form the outer walls of the silo, the siding that 
has been used upon either will usually answer also 
for the outer lining of the silo, and without any 
change. When the silo extends upward through 
the roof of a building, the outer lining of the part 
which thus projects may be similar to the siding of 
the building. When the silo Is built without, it may 



BUILDING THE SILO. 315 

be necessary in very cold climates to have two thick- 
nesses of boards for the outer lining, with tarred 
paper between, as show^n in Fig. 36. But usually a 
covering of drop siding, such as is ordinarily used, 
will suffice. In mild climates an outer covering may 
not be necessary, except for the purpose of hiding 
the uncouth appearance of an uncovered frame. 

Partitions. — When partitions are used in a silo 
with a width of not more than sixteen feet, they may 
ordinarily consist of planks two inches thick and 
held in place at either end by a groove formed along 
the wall to receive them. (See Page 286.) When 
filling a silo with a partition of such material, it will 
be necessary to fill on both sides of the partition or 
to brace one side while the other is being filled. In 
a silo twenty-four feet in hight, three iron rods of 
about three-fourths inch iron should run through 
the partition at suitable distances from one another 
and in grooves made for them between the planks. 
( See Page 287. ) The rods should be threaded at the 
ends and should have under the burrs washers of 
metal of sufficient size to prevent the burrs from 
drawing into the wood. When thus protected, the 
walls of the rectangular silo cannot spread. 

The Corners. — In each inside corner a scantling 
should be placed on end and spiked to the walls so 
as to present a beveled edge on the mside. A scant- 
ling 2x4 inches or 4x6 inches ripped diagonally 
through the center, that is to say, from two opposite 
corners, will furnish the requisite material for cor- 
ners. The beveled edge should of course be planed. 

The Doors. — The doors, as in the stave silo, 
should be placed one above another. (See Page 305.) 



3l6 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

They may also be of the same size as those described 
in the stave silo, .where the distance between the studs 
will admit of making them thus, and they may be 
similarly distanced. They may likewise be beveled 
on the edges and held together by bars bolted to the 
outer edge of the wall before the dcors are cut out. 
A simpler form of door has been made by cutting 
out an opening of sufficient size between two studs 
and holding together the part of the lining thus cut 
out by bars nailed or bolted to them on the outside. 
When in place they rest against strips nailed to the 
two sides of the two studs adjacent to the opening 
for the door. When the doors are in place they are 
covered with tarred paper to aid in excluding the 
air. Where an outer lining has been put on, open- 
ings to correspond with those of the inner lining may 
be made on the same general plan. 

The Roof. — It is only when the rectangular silo 
extends up through the roof of the outbuilding, or 
when the silo is built outside that it requires to be 
roofed. The plates which are spiked onto the top 
of the studs, or which have the latter mortised into 
them, should be less wide than the studs that venti- 
lation may be provided for the air space between the 
inner and outer linings of the wall. Plates are fre- 
quently used no thicker than the studs, but in silos 
possessed of much width it would be no more than 
prudent to use plates somewhat thicker. The size 
of the rafters used should be regulated by the size 
of the silo. When in position they are notched 
where they rest on the plates and are spiked and toe- 
nailed to the same. If narrow boards or 2x4 scant- 
lings are nailed or spiked to opposite rafters and not 



BUILDING THE SILO. 317 

far up from the plates, they assist materially in pre- 
venting the silo from spreading. But there is no 
necessity for nailing them thus to each pair of rafters. 
The covering of the roof may consist of boards and 
shingles, or indeed, of any of the materials used in 
covering roofs that may be desired. In the gable 
should be a hinged door to admit green food when 
the silo is being filled. It should be not less than 
two and one-half feet wide to admit carriers such 
as are commonly used when silos are being filled; 
but sometimes the gable end is left open. There 
should also be at least one cupola or ventilator on the 
ridge of the roof to furnish egress to the gases which 
are generated by the fermentation of the silage. If 
the roof of a silo is closed tightly, premature decay 
in the roof would result. 

BUILDING STONE SILOS. 

It is almost certain that the stone silo will grow- 
in favor with the passing of the years because of its 
greater relative duration. This will at least prove 
true in localities abundantly supplied with stone. 
The greater relative first cost of constructing stone 
silos is probably more than anything else responsible 
for the infrequency with which such silos are found. 
Future experience, however, is likely to show that 
when the greater duration of stone silos is taken into 
account, they will prove the cheapest by far in the 
end. The objections have been brought against 
them that they are damp, and that frost easily pene- 
trates them, and both objections are true in the 
absence of certain precautions when building them. 



3l8 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

Excessive dampness may be prevented by making 
an air space in the wall while it is being built, or by 
lining the wall on the inside with one thickness of 
brick and by giving due attention to ventilation. 

The danger from frost will not be present 
except in cold climates. The air space in the wall, 
or the inner brick lining above referred to will also 
help materially to ward off frost. When neither is 
present, protection may be afforded by covering the 
outer wall with a lining of boards nailed to studding 
so as to form an air space between the lining and 
the wall. The aim should be, however, to construct 
the wall so that such lining on the outside would not 
be necessary. A stone silo properly built should last 
indefinitely without any form of renewal except in 
the inner lining and in the covering over the frame- 
work of the roof. 

Forms of Construction. — Stone silos may be 
built square, rectangular or round and they will 
usually be located outside, but may also be placed 
inside the barn or stable. The aim should be wher- 
ever practicable to build them round. When this 
cannot be done, the corners inside should be rounded 
more or less to facilitate the settling of the silage. 

The Foundation. — The foundation of the stone 
silo may be made in the same way as the foundation 
for any structure in which permanency is desired. 
Every care should be taken to preserve it from the 
action of frost when built in a cold climate, lest crack- 
ing of the walls should follow. As the structure is 
heavy, the foundation should go down to solid earth. 
If the drainage below is not complete it should be 
made so by laying tiles under the wall or adjacent 



BUILDING THE SILO. 319 

to and a little lower than the bottom of the same. 
The ground should also slope away somewhat from 
the outside of the wall. 

The Floor. — The floor in the stone silo may be 
similar in, construction to that in the stave silo. ( See 
Page 282 and also Page 299. ) 

The Walls. — The thickness of the walls should 
be determined by the size of the silo. The larger 
the silo the greater the pressure, and the greater the 
pressure the thicker should be the wall. It is at least 
questionable if the wall of any stone silo should be 
less than fifteen to eighteen inches in thickness, and 
the necessity will probably seldom arise for making 
the wall more than twenty-four inches thick. 
Whether the wall with an air space or the solid wall 
with a brick lining inside will be the more efficacious 
does not appear to have been determined as yet. In 
southern climates where the danger from frost does 
not exist, the solid wall without an air space or brick 
lining should answer every purpose. 

The Inner Lining. — The walls inside should be 
coated with cement of an excellent quality. If laid 
on a brick lining it will last for many years where 
frost does not penetrate the wall. In a stone silo built 
by W. C. Edwards, M. P., of Rockland, Ont., the 
cement lining has been in place for ten years and 
is still in faultless condition. The stone wall is two 
feet thick. It is faced inside with one tier of bricks 
laid with the side to the wall, and the cement lining 
is plastered on the bricks. This fact is in conflict 
with statements made, which claim that it is neces- 
sary to apply cement of the consistency of whitewash 
every two or three years to the inner lining of stone 



320 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

silos. Whether the cement would last as well on 
properly built stone silos without the brick facing 
insides does not appear to have been determined, but 
there would seem to be no good reasons why it 
should not. 

The Outer Lining. — Where stone silos are prop- 
erly constructed, there should be no necessity for 
an outer lining of wood in any climate where corn 
can be successfully grown for the silo. The stone 
silo referred to in the preceding paragraph is located 
between the forty-fifth and forty-sixth parallels of 
north latitude, and in a climate that is stern and rig- 
orous. The larger portion of the wall, which is 
twenty-six feet high, is unprotected, and yet Mr. 
Edwards testifies that no trouble whatever has arisen 
from the action of frost. 

Where it is deemed necessary, however, to pro- 
tect a stone silo by lining it outside, the lining can 
best be nailed to upright studs laid into the outer 
wall while it is being built, but of course studding 
may be used that is not thus laid into the wall. The 
studs or strips thus placed do not require to be any 
nearer than will suf^ce to properly sustain the siding. 
Drop siding will be suitable. 

The Roof. — The roof of the stone silo when 
built outside may be constructed on the same plan 
as that of any other silo. But because of the greater 
duration of stone silos, it will probably pay to take 
special pains in the selection and use of material last- 
ing in character, as, for instance, metal roofing. 
And since the stave silo is frequently built and used 
from year to year without any form of roof there 
would seem to be no good reason for not similarly 



BUILDING THE SILO. 32 I 

using the stone silo where the cHmatic conditions 
are suitable. 

The Doors. — Provision ought to be made for 
the door spaces when the wall is being built. These 
should be on one side of the silo and above one 
another, as in the stave silo. The size of the door 
spaces should be about the same, that is to say, about 
18x24 inches, or perhaps a little larger than that, 
because of the greater thickness of the stone wall. 
The material for the doors within and without will 
of course be wood, with tarred paper on the surface 
next the air space and also on the beveled edges. 
These beveled edges will fit into a corresponding 
bevel on the four edges of the inner and also on the 
outer surface of the wall, which border on the open 
space left for the doors. But the bevel on the outer 
side is much less important than that on the inner 
side, and may be dispensed with altogether. The 
doors on both sides may swing on hinges of suitable 
construction, or they may be simply put in place 
while the silo is being filled. 

In deep and wide stone silos it may be necessary 
to strengthen the walls, to some extent, with iron 
bands encircling them, or with iron rods running up 
and down, as, for instance, near the doors. 
21 



CHAPTER V. 

CROPS SUITABLE FOR THE SILO. 

It would seem to be possible to preserve in the 
silo with more or less of success any of the crops 
that are ordinarily grown in this country as food for 
live stock. Nevertheless, the exact methods to be 
followed in storing many of these crops so as to 
properly preserve them have not yet been fully deter- 
mined. The relative suitability of crops for being 
made into silage is determined by various considera- 
tions. Chief among these is the ease with which 
they may be preserved m the silo. But prominent 
among the same are the following: i, The readi- 
ness with which they may be grown in ample supply. 
2, The ease with which they may be put into the silo 
and taken out of the same. 3, The facility with 
which they may be preserved by other methods. 
Corn for instance is more easily preserved in the silo 
than winter rye and it also produces more food per 
acre. On these grounds therefore it is so far the 
more suitable food of the two for being made into 
silage. Clover is more easily handled than rape, 
hence it is so far a more suitable silo crop. Sorghum 
is more difficult to cure in the dry form than peas 
and oats, hence it is more suitable than the latter for 
siloing. 

The relative suitability of the following plants 
for being made into silage will now be considered, 

322 



CROPS SUITABLE FOR THE SILO. 323 

viz. : Corn, sorghum, non-saccharine sorghum, legu- 
minous plants other than clover, plants of the clover 
family, millets, the common cereals, field roots, rape 
and sunflowers. With the exception of sunflowers, 
the Author believes the above have been named in 
about the order of relative suitability, giving corn 
the first place. 

Corn. — Corn is pre-eminently the soiling plant 
of the United States and Canada. It would prob- 
ably be correct to say that more corn is made into 
silage in these respective countries than all other 
crops combined. The high adaptation of this plant 
for the silo is based on such considerations as its wide 
distribution, the certainty with which it may be 
grown, the ease with which it is handled and cured, 
the large amount of food which it produces and the 
high character of the same, the aid which it renders 
in preserving other crops put into the silo along with 
it, and the difficulty frequently experienced in curing 
corn out of the silo. It is distributed so widely that 
it may be grown for silage in nearly every state in 
the Union and in nearly every province of Canada. 
Even where it does not become sufficiently advanced 
to produce soft grain it may be cured in the silo. It 
is one of the most certain crops of the farm, and 
when grown for silage, it is even more certain than 
when grown mainly for the grain product, since it 
may be cured in the silo before it is fully matured. 

All things considered, no other crop is more 
easily handled in the green form, and none have been 
cured in the silo with so much certamty, so small a 
number of failures and so little loss. Likewise con- 
sidered, no other crop produces so large an amount 




(324) 



Fig. 37. Elephant Fodder Corn 

Minnesota University Experiment Farm. 



CROPS SUITABLE FOR THE SILO. 325 

of food per acre that is so highly palatable and 
nutritious and over so wide an area. Various other 
crops, as clover, soy beans and cowpeas may be bet- 
ter preserved along with corn, as for instance, in 
alternate layers, than when put into the silo alone. 
Since in some sections corn is not easily preserved 
in the shock, the stack or the barn, the percentage of 
loss in those areas is reduced when corn is cured in 
the silo. 

So completely adapted is corn to the require- 
ments of silage making that where it can be grown 
successfully from year to year it is questionable as 
to whether very much attention should be given to 
the siloing of other crops. Were it not that it is 
rather low in protein, the propriety of growing other 
crops to blend with it or to feed along with the 
silage made from it might well be questioned. Since 
the protein required to balance the ration can usually 
be procured more easily in the cured form, it is com- 
monly more advantageous thus to procure it. 
Probably the soy bean, the cowpea and the sunflower, 
plants that are rich in protein, furnish exceptions. 

Sorghum. — The suitability of sorghum for the 
silo is, in some respects at least, not very far different 
from that of corn, but since sorghum has not hereto- 
fore been grown to anything like the same extent as 
corn in those areas where the silo is most needed, its 
merits as silage food are but little known, and since 
its keeping qualities outside of the silo are in several 
respects superior to those of corn, the same necessity 
has not been felt for curing it in the form of silage. 
And when thus cured, sorghum silage has usually 
been found more acid than silage made from corn. 




5 s 



CROPS SUITABLE FOR THE SILO. 327 

For autumn feeding it would seldom probably be 
advantageous to make sorghum into silage since it 
may be fed so conveniently at that season from the 
shock or heap, as the case may be. But for late 
winter and spring feeding, in climates subject to al- 
ternations of high and low temperatures in winter, 
it is perhaps better preserved in the silo. Alternate 
freezing and thawing tend to affect adversely the 
value of its saccharine content. 

The Non-Saccharine Sorghfnns. — The value of 
the non-saccharine sorghums as silage is probably 
not far different from that of sorghum, although ex- 
perience in storing these crops in the silo is so limited 
that their relative value for making silage should be 
spoken of with a prudent reserve. Since they are 
grown in areas where the need of silos is not so im- 
perative as where corn grows at its best, there is not 
the same necessity for making them into silage. 
They are grown to the greatest extent in dry areas 
where the fodder is not much liable to injury from 
rain when exposed in stacks, either in the autumn or 
winter. There should be no difficulty in preserving 
any of the non-saccharine sorghums in the silo, but, 
since they are usually less succulent than corn, they 
should be put into the silo at a somewhat less ad- 
vanced stage of development. 

Leguminous Plants Other Than Clover. — The 
chief of these, under conditions that now prevail in 
the United States, are the ordinary field pea, the 
common vetch, the soy bean and the cowpea. These 
can all be preserved with more or less of success in 
the silo, but when preserved thus without admixture 
or alternation with other crops, as corn, in instances 



328 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

too numerous, the success attained has been only 
partial. This would seem to be true even of soy 
bean and cowpea silage. Silage made from these 
crops is too frequently acid in character, and in too 
many instances it has become more or less decom- 
posed and off in color and smell. And these facts 
are probably true in a greater degree of the common 
pea and the common vetch than of the soy bean and 
the cowpea. This would seem to indicate that the 
two plants first named are usually put into the silo in 
a form too succulent. Whether the numerous fail- 
ures in the attempt to preserve these crops in the 
silo arises from want of knowledge of the proper 
methods of doing the work, cannot as yet be stated 
with certainty, but there would seem to be no good 
reason why" it should not 1)e possible to preserve 
them w^ith more uniform success than has heretofore 
been attained. 

The same necessity does not exist for preserv- 
ing the common pea and the common vetch in the 
silo as for preserving the soy bean and the cowpea. 
Since the two former may under average conditions 
be easily cured in the dry form. They are so fine in 
foliage that they readily give up their moisture when 
being cured. Not so however the soy bean and the 
cowpea. They are so coarse of straw that so much 
time is necessary to cure them properly and also so 
much handling, that unless great care is exercised in 
doing the work, the value of the hay thus made will 
be greatly impaired through the loss of the leaves. 

When the soy bean and the cowpea are stored 
in the silo it should, when practicable, be along with 
corn or sorghum in some of its varieties. Some 



CROPS SUITABLE FOR THE SILO. 329 

persons recommend storing these foods in alternate 
layers, since they consider it more practicable to store 
in layers than to mix the food, as it is easier to handle 
first one food and then the other when storing, than 
to handle the two simultaneously. The mixing of 
the food may be done when feeding it. But, if it is 
thought better to mix them at the time of storing, no 
serious obstacle stands in the way. This method of 
storing tends to make a more perfectly balanced 
ration. The proportions of each product required to 
make a balanced ration will vary with variations in 
the analyses of the crops. But even when these 
crops are stored thus, it may not always be wise to 
store them in those proportions that will exactly 
adapt the food to the needs of the animals to which 
it is to be fed. It may be impossible to do so because 
of a preponderance in the supply of one or the other 
of the crops grown. If it is true that corn, or sor- 
ghum exercises a preservative influence on the other 
foods, it would seem to be necessary to have a con- 
siderable preponderance of them in the silo. 

It is easily possible to grow^ the soy bean and the 
cowpea so that they will be in season for being put 
into the silo when corn or sorghum are also in season. 
But the same cannot be said of the common pea or 
the common vetch. 

The horse bean has been grown to determine its 
value for silage at least in an experimental way in 
the vicinity of Ottawa, Ont. The object sought 
was to increase the protein content in the silage. 
Where the beans can be profitably grown and mixed 
with corn in the silo, the plan of using them thus 
would seem to be commendable, but the areas in 



330 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

which horse beans and corn can both be grown suc- 
cessfully on this continent are not extensive. 

Plants of the Clover Family. — Clover in all its 
forms may be made into silage both in the natural 
condition and after it has been run through a cutting 
box. It is more common however to preserve thus, 
only the medium red and the mammoth sorts. Al- 
sike clover is more easily cured in the dry form than 
either of these, because of its fine growth and the 
frequency with which it is grown along with tim- 
othy. It is much easier to grow an equal or nearly 
equal mixture of alsike and timothy, than of the red 
clovers and timothy, and the timothy thus admixed 
with the alsike is favorable to quick curing in the 
latter. Alfalfa is more commonly grown in dry 
climates, hence the necessity for preserving it in the 
silo is not very great. 

While fairly good silage may sometimes be 
made of clover when put into the silo without ad- 
mixture, it does not seem an easy task to preserve it 
thus in a manner that will give entire satisfaction. 
In too many instances, when taken out of the silo, it 
is too dark in color and rank in odor to meet the re- 
quirements of those w^ho are seeking the very best 
quality of milk. But the fact that it is sometimes 
preserved with a fair measure of sweetness would 
seem to indicate that it may always be so preserved 
if the conditions that govern the making of good 
clover silage were fully understood. 

Clover is more easily preserved in the silo when 
admixed with corn, and when thus preserved the 
ration provided is in better balance than if it con- 
sisted only of corn, since the clover adds to the 



CROPS SUITABLE FOR THE SILO. . 33 1 

protein content which is too much wanting in the 
corn. But the first cutting of medium red clover can- 
not be thus mixed with corn, since the corn is not far 
enough advanced for being put into the silo when the 
clover is ready for being thus stored. Nor is corn 
sufficiently advanced for being preserved thus along 
with mammoth clover. But the second cutting of 
medium red clover is ready for being siloed at the 
same time as corn. Because of the greater difficulty 
experienced in many localities in curing the second 
growth of medium clover, on account of the in- 
creased dampness of the weather at that season there 
is sometimes much propriety in curing it in the silo. 
But under average conditions in the United States 
and Canada, the curing of clover in the old-fashioned 
way, with the exception stated, would seem to be 
preferable to curing it in the silo. In climates with 
much rainfall in harvest as that of Great Britain, it is 
different. In that country it may be the better plan 
to preserve clover in the silo. 

Millets. — The different kinds of millet may also 
be preserved in the silo, although they are seldom 
thus handled and for the following reasons:; — 
I, They mature at a season of the year favorable to 
curing in the dry form, that is to say, they mature 
in the latter part of the summer. 2, Like ordinary 
hay they are easily handled in the field cured form. 
3, The method of preserving them alone or unmixed 
in the silo cannot be said as yet to have proved a 
decided success. Millet silage would seem to be 
more liable to mold than corn. This may not be 
true of pearl millet, but experience in siloing that 
product would seem to be entirely wanting. 



332 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

The plan of preserving millet, in some of its 
forms at least, along with corn may have some com- 
mendable features, since it is usually ready for being 
harvested about the same time as corn. There is the 
objection to it however, that it does not improve the 
feeding value of the mixture so much as a legumi- 
nous plant would, since the latter would be richer in 
protein. The more bulky kinds of millet and the 
soy bean may be successfully preserved together in 
the silo. They make a good food, as each plant 
would in a sense be the complement of the other. It 
has been recommended to put one load of each alter- 
nately into the silo when filling it, and to sprinkle 
several buckets of water over each load of millet 
when in the silo. 

The Common Cereals. — Under this head only 
wheat, oats, rye and barley will be considered. 
There w^ould seem to be but little reason for preserv- 
ing these crops in the silo, even though they made 
good silage. The grain alone which they produce 
is usually more valuable than the silage made from 
them, since they must be made into silage while yet 
somewhat lacking in completest possible nutrition. 
Nor can they be readily preserved in the silo owing 
to the hollow and dry character of the stem. Silage 
as ordinarily made from these crops is much liable 
to injury from dry mold. This liability can of course 
be lessened by much tramping while the silo is being 
filled, and by sprinkling the mass freely with water 
occasionally, also by cutting the food a little earlier 
than it is usually cut. The Author made good 
silage from winter r}^ at the Ontario experiment 
station at Guelph in 1891. The rye was cut when 



CROPS SUITABLE FOR THE SILO. 333 

fully out in head and was then run through a cutting 
box. The cattle to which it was fed ate it with 
evident relish. But while the rye silage was thus 
being fed, the exposed surface in the silo dried out 
so quickly between the feeding periods that the pala- 
tability of the silage was materially lessened, not- 
withstanding that it was being fed to a considerable 
number of animals. 

All things considered, there would not seem to 
be any great necessity for making these crops into 
silage. The grain is usually more needed than the 
silage. They can usually be readily cured as hay 
when wanted in that form, and there is also less 
hazard on the whole in curing them as hay. 

Field Roots. — There would seem to be no good 
reason why the attempt should be made to keep field 
roots in the silo under existing conditions, since they 
can be so easily preserved in cellars and pits. The 
only exception is the pulp made from sugar beets 
after the sugar has been extracted from them.. And 
yet it is possible that the day will come when field 
roots will be run through a pulper and made into 
silage to secure greater convenience in storing and 
feeding. They could thus be stored in less space 
and they would be in condition that would fit them 
for being fed to any kind of live stock without fur- 
ther preparation. 

It will perhaps, in all cases, be found more 
profitable to feed the tops of field roots directly to 
live stock than to try to preserve them in the silo. 
The labor of handling them thus is very much less 
than the labor of first putting them into the silo and 
feeding them out again, even though they could be 



334 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

cured with but little hazard. But it is pretty certain 
that they cannot be cured thus, because of the excess 
of moisture which they contain. This at least has 
been the outcome of experiments made heretofore to 
preserve the tops of field roots in the silo. 

But it is different with beet pulp. The feeding 
value is not greatly reduced by taking so much of 
the sugar content from it. It is ordinarily not prac- 
ticable for farmers contiguous to the beet factory to 
cart the entire product of the pulp from the same and 
to feed it on their farms. They cannot do so in cold 
weather and the time required would be too valuable 
unless when they lived near the factory. It would 
seem to be in a sense necessary therefore to store it 
in a silo of some kind near the factory and to 
feed it from the same. The product thus pre- 
served has been made to furnish an excellent adjunct 
in feeding dairy stock and cattle and sheep that 
are being kept for breeding uses or that are being 
fattened. 

Rape. — Experiments have been made to pre- 
serve rape in the silo, but so far as the Author has 
been able to ascertain, they have not been successful. 
Like the tops of field roots, rape is too watery to 
make good silage. It deca3^s in the silo, turns black 
in color and becomes tainted with an offensive odor. 
Nor is there any real necessity for curing it thus. 
The labor of handling would be increased as com- 
pared with that entailed in feeding it directly as 
soiling food. Though preserved ever so well, it 
would have to be fed with much caution to milch 
cows lest taint might be produced in the milk. It 
would seem therefore to be a waste of time for any 



CROPS SUITABLE FOR THE SILO. 335 

but experimenters to ever try to preserve rape 
in the silo. 

The Sunflower. — The growing of sunflowers lo 
be made into silage along with corn has been advo- 
cated by some high authorities and has been practiced 
to a very limited extent by farmers in some sections 
of Ontario. The object sought is to so increase the 
feeding value of the silage that the complement of 
grain to be added to the same when it is fed can be 
materially lessened. The sunflowers are grown in 
rows and cultivated much after the fashion of corn. 
The heads only are used. They are gathered, run 
through a cutting box and mixed with corn while 
the silo is being filled. 

Large yields of heads have thus been obtained, 
as high in some instances as eight tons per acre. But 
it would seem questionable if this plant will ever be 
extensively grown for such a use and for the follow- 
ing reasons: — i. The labor of gathering the heads 
is considerable. It must be done by hand. 2, The 
stalks which require much plant food to grow them 
have no feeding value. 3, They also cumber the 
land and involve extra labor in removing them, for 
which there would seem to be no adequate compensa- 
tion unless when they can be used as fuel. 



CHAPTER VL 



FILLING THE SILO. 



When crops are preserved in the silo, much of 
the success in thus storing them depends upon such 
considerations as the stage at which they are har- 
vested and the precise methods followed in storing. 
The expense incurred will also be materially affected 
by the way in which the work is done. The various 
questions which bear upon these points will now be 
considered. 

Stage of Harvesting. — The stage of develop- 
ment at which crops should be harvested when put 
into the silo will vary with the kind of crop to be 
preserved. Corn is in the best condition for being 
harvested when the grain in the ear has reached the 
''glazed stage" or what is sometimes termed the 
''roasting stage." If put into the silo at an earlier 
period the corn is less nutritious than it would other- 
wise be, and it is also more likely to make silage 
unduly acid. If allowed to pass the stage indicated, 
the corn is somewhat liable to become more or less 
moldy. The mold thus formed is found in spots 
or masses interspersed through the silage. The 
over-acid condition is induced b}^ over succulence in 
the corn, and the moldy condition by want of succu- 
lence. The remedy for the first consists in wilting 
the corn more or less before siloing it, and for the 
second, in cutting the corn at an earlier period. It 

336 



FILLING THE SILO. 337 

should be possible in all instances to apply the last 
mentioned remed}^ but not the first mentioned, since 
there are localities in which the season is too short to 
admit of corn reaching the roasting stage before the 
arrival of frost, and yet in these localities it may be 
desirable to make silage from corn. 

The degree of the wilting will be dependent on 
the succulence of the corn. The less advanced the 
stage of the growth, the more should the corn be 
wilted. Good silage has been made at Indian Head, 
Can., from corn cut before grain had been formed 
in the ear. If corn should pass the proper stage of 
maturity before it is put into the silo, it will keep 
better if water is poured over the m?ss occasionally 
while the silo is being filled. The same result will 
measurably follow if some more succulent food, as 
clover or oats and peas are mixed with the corn. 

When corn is struck with frost and is then al- 
lowed to stand uncut for some time subsequently, it 
will be greatly injured for feeding. But if, when 
thus stricken, the crop is at once cut and put into the 
silo, the value of the silage made from it, though 
reduced is not seriously impaired. 

The exact stage of development at which 
sorghum and the non-saccharine sorghums ought 
to be cut have not yet been fully determined, 
but it will probably be found that the best stage 
for harvesting these crops will be when they 
are just a little short of maturity. But crops even of 
the same species are by no means equally succulent 
at the same stage of advancement. Much depends 
upon the climate, and season, and this fact must not 
be lost sight of when they are being*made into silage. 

22 



338 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

The soy bean should be harvested when the 
beans are more or less grown in the pods, and the 
same is true of the cowpea and the horse bean. It 
is usually considered preferable to allow the pods to 
become well advanced, so as to increase the feeding 
value of the silage, but more experience is wanted 
in siloing these crops before the exact stage of 
growth can be certainly known at which they ought 
to be harvested. 

Clover should be cut for the silo when coming 
into full bloom. If cut earlier it is too immature 
and is over succulent. If cut later it is lacking in 
succulence. Rye and wheat should be cut as soon 
as out in head, and the same is true of millets. Oats 
and peas grown together are ready when the pods in 
the peas are in process of filling. The seed of sun- 
flowers should be allowed to becomie nearly matured 
before putting them into the silo. But from what 
has already been said, it will be evident that the 
period of harvesting may be varied somewhat by the 
treatment given to the crops while storing them. 

Cut ting Crops for the Silo. — The implement to 
be used in cutting crops for the silo will depend on 
the nature of the crop. Very frequently the field 
mower is used. The exceptions are, corn, sorghum 
the non-saccharine sorghums, sunflower heads, and 
in some instances such crops as rye and millet. Rye 
and millet are sometimes harvested with the ordinary 
binder. When thus harvested they are handled with 
but little labor. Some form of knife must be used in 
cutting off the heads of sunflowers. The best mode 
of cutting corn and sorghum for the silo will vary 
with conditions. When small quantities only are to 



FILLING THE SILO. 339 

be put into the silo, it is questionable if any imple- 
ment used by hand is superior to the corn knife. 
But when large areas are to be cut, the corn binder 
should do the work satisfactorily and with despatch 
when the corn or sorghum stands fairly erect. 

Conveying the Crop to the Silo. — Since crops 
for the silo must be harvested in the green form, 
they handle very heavily. The aim should be to 
convey them to the silo by that method that will 
involve the least expenditure in labor. Ordinarily 
therefore they should be loaded on conveyances 
which do not rise far from the ground. Careful 
attention to this matter will prevent the expenditure 
of muscle in a marked degree. Trucks with low 
wheels and covered with a broad platform are suit- 
able for such work. The only objection to them 
probably is the heavy draught. A platform is some- 
times made on which to load these crops, and when 
in use it is suspended underneath the front and hind 
bolsters of an ordinary wagon. It consists of two 
strong scantlings of hardwood of any length within 
the limits of practicability, and held together by cross- 
pieces at both ends. Inch boards of some hard wood 
are nailed across these scantlings. If pine is the 
material used, the boards or planks should be thicker. 
The platform is suspended so as to come within 
about a foot of the ground. The green food is 
placed on the same for conveyance to the silo. 

In gathering some kinds of crops for convey- 
ance to the silo, as clover for instance, a hay loader 
may sometimes be used with advantage. But when 
so used the green food must be lifted from the swath 
where the mower left it. Sunflower heads are 



340 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

usually cut with a strong knife and thrown directly 
into a wagon box. In this they are driven to where 
the cutting box is placed. 

Whether crops should be wilted or not before 
being put into the silo, and also the degree to which 
they should be wilted, will depend largely on the 
natural succulence in the crop, and the stage at which 
it is cut. Crops that are quite succulent, as green 
clover, are more easily preserved when wilted more 
or less. On the other hand crops lacking in succu- 
lence, as winter rye, cannot be placed in the silo too 
soon after they have been cut. Corn cut at the 
proper stage may be put directly into the silo, but 
corn less mature should be wilted more or less ac- 
cording as it is lacking in maturity. 

Putting Crops into the Silo. — Whether crops 
should be run through a cutting box or not before 
putting them into the silo will depend upon con- 
ditions. When but a limited quantity of silage is 
wanted, and where labor is not easily obtained, it 
may sometimes be wise to store crops in the silo in 
the uncut form. But this method of storing them 
is not always practicable. In a silo entirely above 
the ground, it would be almost impossible to get 
corn, for instance, into the same without excessive 
labor, and if put into a silo that goes far down below 
the surface of the ground it would be even more diffi- 
cult to get the corn out again. The only crops that 
could be stored in the o^^er-ground silo without 
excessive labor, are those which may be deposited in 
the same with the aid of the horse forks. 

In a large majority of instances it will prove 
more satisfactory in many ways to store food in the 



FILLING THE SILO. 341 

silo after it has first been run through a cutting box, 
and for reasons as follows: — i, Much less labor is 
required to put it into the silo and to pack it so as 
to exclude the air. 2, It usually keeps better 
in the cut form. 3, Much less labor is involved 
in feeding the silage. 4, A smaller proportion 
will be rejected by the animals. 5, Meal may 
be mixed with the cut silage as may be desired. 
Whenever silage is fed in a large way, it will 
certainly pay well to run the food through a 
cutting: box before it is stored rather than to 
store it in the uncut form. 

Where corn, sorghum or the non-saccharine 
sorghums are to be run through a cutting box when 
put into the silo, the cutting box chosen should be 
strong, and when much work is to be done, it should 
be capacious, that the work may be done rapidly. It 
may of course be driven by any kind of power not 
unduly expensive. The tendency now is to prefer 
engine power to horse power. 

The lengths to which the food should be cut 
is yet an unsettled point. In fact it will vary to 
some extent with the crops stored. All things con- 
sidered, however, short lengths in the food cut are 
preferable to those longer. They may be packed 
more tightly and handled more readily when feeding 
than silage of longer lengths. Those from one-half 
to three-fourths of an inch, of such hard substances 
as corn or sorghum stalks, are in favor with many. 
Intermediate lengths, that is, lengths a little longer 
than the above, have been objected to because 
of the soreness of mouth sometimes induced in cattle, 
from biting on the ends of the cuts rather than on the 



342 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

sides of the same which they must needs do if the 
pieces are long. The only objection probably to 
the short lengths in the silage arise from the in- 
creased labor of cutting the food thus short. It 
would not seem to be necessary to cut soft-stemmed 
crops in lengths so short as those that are hard. 

The expense of making silage is lessened by 
doing the work in such a way that all the workmen 
engaged shall be kept employed, that is to say, when 
the men in the silo do not have to wait for cut food, 
when the engine does not have to wait idly for the 
arrival of uncut food from the fields, and when the 
workmen in the fields do not have to wait for the 
return of the teams which draw the food. To ar- 
range the work thus requires some executive tact, 
and where silos are numerous in any locality, it can 
be most cheaply done when done in a co-operative 
way. 

Putting the Food Into the Silo. — The silo may 
be filled quickly and without any interruption save 
that which is made by taking the usual rest required 
by the workhands. Or, it may be filled slowly and 
at intervals as may be convenient. The intervals of 
cessation in filling should not at any time cover many 
days lest the exposed silage should begin to decay, 
unless it is absolutely necessary to wait after the silo 
has been partially cured for some other crop to 
mature. In such an event more or less of the food 
that was last put into the silo will be spoiled. This 
ought to be removed before the filling of the silo is 
resumed. When but a short period is covered in 
filling the silo, although it should be filled to the brim, 
it will not remain full. 



FILLING THE SILO. 343 

The silage will continue to settle for several 
days, so that a large space will be left vacant above 
the silage. Where two silos are to be filled that are 
near at hand, the difficulty will be partially met by 
filling both at the same time, that is to say, by filling 
one in part and then the other in successive alterna- 
tions until both are full. More time is thus given 
for the silage to settle. For the same reason, when 
a silo is being filled with a division in it, the two 
divisions should be likewise filled simultaneously. 
And when thus filled the danger from pressing the 
division away from the perpendicular is also ob- 
viated. But it has not yet been demonstrated that 
quick or reasonably slow filling materially affects the 
character of the silage. 

The proper distribution of the food in the silo 
is a matter of no slight importance. When it is al- 
lowed to fall from the carriers which convey it to the 
silo, the mass rises up in the center in the shape of a 
cone. From this cone the food rolls down toward 
the sides of the silo. But in doing so, the lighter 
portions, as for instance the leaves of corn, are 
forced outward by the heavier portions, as the grain 
and stem. The quality of the silage, therefore, on 
the outer edges is frequently inferior to that in and 
near the center of the same, especially when it con- 
tains less grain. If, therefore, the quality of the 
silage is to be uniform in the silo, it must be carefully 
distributed from the first. 

But still greater harm will follow from allowing 
the silage thus to pile up in the center. It will not 
settle evenly. The pressure is greatest in the center, 
and the tendency in settling will be to draw away the 



344 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

food from the walls of the silo, and air will thus be 
admitted with the result that much of the mass on 
the outer edges will be spoiled. This condition is 
even more aggravated when such food as clover, for 
instance, is thus put into the silo with the horse- fork. 
Loss from this source may be prevented by first dis- 
tributing the food evenly during the filling of the 
silo, and then tramping it so that the impaction of the 
mass will be about equal in all parts of the silo. The 
amount of tramping required will be least in the 
center of the silo and greatest on the outer edges., 
In the square or rectangular silo, particular pains 
should be taken to tramp down the mass firmly in the 
corners, or harm will follow^ from the admission of 
air. The amount of tramping required will vary 
with the nature of the food, the shape of the silo and 
the depth of the same. The less succulent the food 
and the more woody it is in character, the more 
should it be tramped. More tramping on the whole 
is necessary in a square or rectangular silo than in a 
round one, since the food settles more readily in the 
latter. Less tramping is needed in a deep silo than 
in a shallow one, since when the silo is deep, the 
silage sinks more under the pressure, as it were, of 
its own weight. It is evident therefore that much 
care should be taken to tramp down firmly the food 
in the upper portion of a silo whatever its shape may 
be or the extent of its depth. 

In a large silo the distribution of the food may 
be facilitated by the introduction of a simple device. 
It consists of a platform or table made of boards and 
suspended far upward in the silo and equally distant 
from its walls. The food falls from the carriers 



FILLING THE SILO. 345 

onto the center of this table. As soon as it accumu- 
lates sufficiently on the same it rolls down over the 
outer edges, and is in consequence distributed over a 
considerable proportion of the surface of the silo. 

Covering the Silage. ^-Vmons methods have 
been adopted of covering- the silo to preserve the 
silage on and near the surface. They include the fol- 
lowing: — I, Covering with old hay or straw in the 
cut or uncut form to the depth of from one to several 
feet. 2, Covering with some kind of cloth through 
which the air does not easily penetrate, and then 
placing over this a layer of hay or straw as men- 
tioned above. 3, Covering with boards generally 
laid over a covering of straw and then weighting the 
boards with some heavy substance as stone or barrels 
filled with earth. 4, Sowing some kind of grain 
over the surface of the silage and then pouring or 
sprinkling water over it copiously so as to cover the 
mass with a dense growth of grain and grain roots. 

The first method furnishes a cheap covering so 
far as material is concerned. Old hay fine in 
character such as is found in fence corners where 
blue grass has possession, makes a better covering 
than hay coarse in character, or than straw, since it 
lies more densely upon the silage. When either of 
the two last named substances is used it ought to 
be run through a cutting box. The tramping of the 
covering should also be given careful attention. And 
if a few buckets of water are at the same time thrown 
over the mass, it will help to exclude the air more 
perfectly. 

The second method will probably preserve more 
silage than the first, but the covering thus provided 



346 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

is more costly. Whether the advantage will repay 
the additional outlay has not yet been proved. 

The third method, thought at one time to be 
absolutely essential, has been almost entirely dis- 
carded, not because of its want of efficacy so much as 
because of the labor involved. The benefits derived 
from it are greater when some covering is put on as 
described above, before the planks are laid over the 
food and w^eighted with stone or indeed any other 
heavy substance. The advantage from thus weight- 
ing the silage will be lessened by giving much tramp- 
ing to the food as the filling of the silo nears 
completion. No doubt there will be less waste of 
silage when food in the silo is thus covered and 
weighted. The saving thus effected in the silage will 
be more than is generally supposed, because of the 
salutary influence which the weighting exerts on the 
silage for some distance from the surface, even 
though it may not have lost its color. But as stated 
above, the practice is not in favor because of the cost 
involved. 

The plan of covering silage by strewing grain, 
as oats for instance, over the top of the same, and 
then pouring water more or less copiously over the 
mass, is a good one. The heat engendered in the 
silo starts at once a rank growth in the grain. The 
growth of top and root become so dense as to go far 
toward excluding the air. And when the living 
mass falls down and decays, the influence exerted, 
for some time at least, is practically the same, hence 
there is usually but little loss in the silage. This 
plan has the merit of cheapness, of economy in labor 
required and of efiicacy in a marked degree. 



FILLING THE SILO. 347 

But it should not be forgotten that by whatso- 
ever method the silage is covered, there will be more 
or less of loss. Because of this, some silo owners 
have adopted the practice of not covering the silage 
at all. They argue that the greater waste of silage 
that follows is at least offset by the labor involved in 
covering the silage. This may be true of the 
more laborious methods adopted, as by weighting, 
but it is scarcely true when the comparison is made 
between no covering and covering with a growth of 
grain. To leave silage thus uncovered would only 
be commendable when the feeding of the silage is to 
begin at once. 

Preserving Green Crops Without the Silo. — 
Crops are sometimes preserved in the green form 
without a silo. They are thus preserved in the stack 
and also under cover in the mow. The principle of 
preservation however is the same. Through the 
partial fermentation which the food undergoes, the 
air in the mass is expelled and through pressure 
induced by the green condition of the food, the air 
is kept excluded. This pressure is sometimes fur- 
ther increased by artificial means in some instances 
while the food is being deposited and in other in- 
stances subsequentl}^ When food is thus stored the 
stack and also the mow becomes in a sense a silo. 

Curing green food in the stack is somewhat 
common in Great Britain, while the green food is 
being stacked heavy rollers are made to run over the 
green mass from time to time, or pressure is other- 
wise applied, and the food is thus preserved. While 
the practice may be a good one for farmers to adopt 
in countries with much rain in harvest, and where 



348 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

the winter climate is mild, it is at least questionable 
as to whether it ought to be introduced into locali- 
ties where green crops can be cured in the dry form, 
without much hazard. When the cold in winter is 
severe, the frost would penetrate more or less into 
the exposed surfaces and bind them together so as to 
interfere ^^'ith handling the food at such times. The 
Vv^ork of stacking the food in the green condition is 
also more or less laborious ; nor is the green food 
when thus cured as easily handled as dry food. The 
possibility however of curing food thus is not to be 
called in question. Thus far, therefore, the way is 
prepared for those who care to do so, to follow such 
a system. 

The method of preserving food under cover in 
the green form and yet not in a silo, has met with 
some favor in the United States, but only in limited 
areas. When thus preserved, it has been in mows 
or sheds, and tramped down during the filling pro- 
cess. Green clover has thus been preserved in some 
of the northern states. In the central and southern 
states cowpeas and soy beans have also been stored 
thus with success. And more recently reports have 
appeared in which it is claimed that sorghum may 
similarly be preserved. 

That such crops as clover, cowpeas and soy 
beans may thus be preserved cannot be called in ques- 
tion and yet there is an element of hazard about their 
preservation by this method that should lead the 
unskilled in such work to refrain from undertaking 
it, until they have first made themselves familiar 
with the conditions that govern the successful curing 
of those crops in the green form in the mow. The 



FILLING THE SILO. 349 

degree of moisture in the crops, the amount of the 
tramping that should be given, and the size of the 
mow are all important considerations. Clover is 
commonly allowed to wilt a little before being thus 
stored and the same is true of cowpeas and soy 
beans. Some authorities claim that the wilting 
should be continued until it is no longer possible to 
wring much water out of the green mass. Much 
tram.ping is also considered advantageous, and a deep 
mow is preferable to a shallow one. Likewise outer 
walls smooth on the inside are more favorable to the 
settling- of the food than those with horizontal tim- 
bers, as girts, to hinder the proper settling down of 
the same. Not a few who have tried to preserve 
food thus have signally failed. Closely connected 
with such instances of failure is the hazard of loss 
to the building as well, through fire produced by 
what is termed spontaneous combustion. But since 
cowpeas and soy beans are difficult to cure in the 
dry form without much loss of leaves, it may be wise 
to try and cure them thus, more especially when 
there is much hazard from rain. 



CHAPTER VII. 



FEEDING SILAGE. 



When silage has been properly covered in the 
silo, the waste from decay on the surface of the same 
should not extend downward more than a few 
inches. \A^hen not covered at all, the spoiled silage 
will extend downward at least a foot and in some in- 
stances to a distance considerably greater. After 
a time, decay below the surface practically ceases, 
hence subsequently there is but little further loss 
from this source, though the opening of the silo 
should be delayed for months after it has been filled. 
The silage also retains more or less heat for many 
months and this is favorable to feeding the same in 
cold weather. 

When the Feeding May Begin. — The feeding 
of silage may be commenced the same day that the 
filling of the silo has been completed. When feeding 
begins thus early, there is naturally no loss of silage 
from decay, providing a considerable quantity of the 
silage thus removed from day to day. The Author 
has fed silage from the silo in this way and with 
results completely satisfactory. But it is not usual 
to begin feeding silage so soon after the silo has 
been filled, for the reason that other green food can 
be had that is more perishable in character. 

Feed from the Top Dozvird'ard. — In feeding 
silage it is indispensable that the silo shall be opened 

350 



FEEDING SILAGE. 35 1 

at the top, and that in all instances the silage shall 
be fed from the top downwards. When silos were 
first introduced into America, the egregious mistake 
was made of opening them at or near the bottom. 
When thus opened the air is admitted so as to 
penetrate upwards more or less into the mass, 
and thus hasten its decay. Much of the silage 
above falls down from time to time and in such 
a loose condition it at once begins to spoil. It 
is necessary therefore, under all circumstances, to 
feed from the top downwards, but it is not abso- 
lutely necessary to feed from the whole surface 
of the silo at once. A section only of the 
mass of silage may be fed from until it is all 
gone, but when silage is thus fed in sections from 
the top to the bottom, there is more loss in silage than 
when it is fed from the entire surface, except 
when the size of the silo is too great for the number 
of animals that are being fed from it. This method 
of feeding silage therefore is only justifiable, 
when the quantity to be fed at one time is too 
small to admit of feeding from the whole sur- 
face without harm to the exposed portion of the 
silage. 

No more of the product on the surface should be 
loosened up at one time than is wanted for immediate 
feeding, as when thus loosened and not soon fed, the 
quality of the food deteriorates. But when feeding 
from the whole surface of the silo it may be necessary 
to remove the silage from only a portion of the sur- 
face when providing food to give the stock but one 
meal. Another part may be removed to furnish the 
next meal. 



352 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

Under such conditions it will be decidedly ad- 
vantageous to have a covering, as of oiled cotton 
cloth, lying over the entire surface of the silo. Such 
a covering is not expensive, and it will tend to keep 
the silage on the surface in better condition for feed- 
ing. When such a covering is used it can be laid 
backward only far enough to make bare a sufficient 
space to furnish food for feeding at one time. The 
cover should be at once put back, and in this way the 
feeding progresses. But even when thus managed, 
it should be the aim to feed from every part of the 
surface, at least as frequently as once in two or 
three days. Such a covering will also prove help- 
ful in protecting the surface silage from frost in 
cold areas, where there may be danger from 
such a source. 

Feeding from a Part of the Surface. — When 
the silage is fed from only a part of the surface of 
the silo, that is to say, when a section of the mass 
only is being fed from, the side of the mass adjacent 
to that from which the silage is being fed is thus 
gradually exposed to the air. Because of such expo- 
sure the silage spoils for some distance in from the 
exposed side. The extent of the decay will depend 
in some measure on the length of the exposure and 
on the compactness of the mass. It will vary from 
a few to several inches. Because of this loss, the 
plan of feeding silage by this method should be 
avoided as far as may be possible. When silage is 
thus removed, some sort of hay knife should be used 
in cutting down the side of the mass. The surface 
exposed will then be smooth and the waste of silage 
will be much less in consequence. 



FEEDING SILAGE. 353 

Because of this waste from feeding silage thus 
in sections, it may be better to have one or more par- 
titions in the silo. Tliis can be managed easily 
enough in a square or oblong silo, but it is practi- 
cally impossible in a stave silo, because of the resist- 
ance which a partition w ould offer to the tightening 
of the staves sometimes required with a stave silo. 
When partitions are used, one section of the silage 
can be all fed out before another section is disturbed. 
But it should be remembered, as already intimated, 
that the greater the number of partitions in a silo 
the greater relatively is the loss of spoiled silage 
likely to be. 

Conveying Silage to the Animals. — When the 
silo is not close to the place of feeding and when 
large quantities of silage are to be fed, it may be nec- 
essary to draw the silage in a cart or dray, from 
which it can be shoveled into the feed mangers. But 
when the silo is near to the place of feeding, the food 
can best be conveyed in a box truck or car, a hand 
cart or a basket. If conveyed in a truck or car, the 
track on which it runs should of course be laid in 
the feeding alley in front of the mangers, so that 
the silage may be shoveled from the car or truck 
into the mangers. When conveyed in a hand cart, 
one with three wheels and drawn or pushed by 
means of a short tongue is very convenient, since it 
may be easily moved from place to place and easily 
turned within a limited area. When fed in limited 
quantities the silage may be carried in a basket. 
When conveyed in a box car, truck or hand cart, the 
silage can be thrown directly into one or the other 
of these from the silo. A fork with several tines in 

23 



354 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

it may be used with much effectiveness in hfting 
the silage in the silo, and the shorter the lengths to 
which the food has been cut, the more readily may 
it be removed. None of the silage thrown out of 
the silo should be allowed to remain unfed, or it will 
at once begin to deteriorate. 

Carrying Silage Over to Another Season. — As 
previously intimated, it is possible to carry silage 
over from one season to another. But it cannot be 
thus carried over without some loss. As soon as the 
feeding of the silage ceases for the season, decay 
begins on the exposed surface and it penetrates the 
same to a certain depth, more or less according to 
the degree of compactness in the silage. In any 
event it will be spoiled to the depth of several inches, 
and up to the present time no effective method of 
preventing such decay has been discovered, which 
is not too costly to justify applying it. But before 
the refilling of the silo begins, the spoiled silage 
should first be carefully removed. 

Adaptation to Diiferent Classes of Animals. — 
Although silage may be fed to horses, cattle, sheep 
and swine, it is not equally adapted to these various 
classes of animals, nor is it equally adapted to the 
needs of all animals of the same class. Much 
depends upon the age of the animals, the other food 
adjuncts that are commonly fed to them and the 
precise object or objects for which they are kept. It 
furnishes excellent food for colts, brood mares and 
horses that are not being worked. Only small quan- 
tities should be fed to horses that are being worked 
moderately and still less to horses that are being 
severely worked. Like all other green foods it 



FEEDING SILAGE. 355 

induces too lax a condition of the bowels when fed in 
any considerable quantities to horses that labor 
hard. 

The best results probably are obtained from 
feeding silage to milch cows. Because of its succu- 
lence it is favorable to milk production, and when 
properly preserved it does not in any way injuriously 
affect the quality of the milk. It also furnishes 
excellent food for young cattle, store cattle and cattle 
that are being finished for beef. But to obtain the 
very best results, the silage must be fed with judg- 
ment and discretion. 

Silage furnishes good food for sheep of all 
ages, but in very cold weather caution should be used 
as to the extent to which it is fed. When fed freely 
at such a time, much of the silage will become cold 
before it is consumed, since sheep are usually fed in 
sheds in which the temperature within is not far 
different from the temperature without. It is not 
wise to feed green food in a cold condition at such 
a time when such feeding can be avoided. Since 
cattle sheds are usually warmer than sheep sheds, 
there is not the same objection to feeding silage to 
cattle thus protected in severely cold weather. 

Silage has not proved a really good food for 
swine. It is usually too bulky and is in consequence 
not well adapted to the digestive system of swine. 
Nevertheless, a little of it may be fed to them with 
some advantage. Brood sows and store pigs will 
chew over the parts rejected by other stock and will 
doubtless get some benefit therefrom. But it is at 
least questionable as to whether silage should be fed 
in any considerable quantity to hogs that are being 



356 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

fattened. Something, however, depends upon the 
materials included in the silage. 

Quantities of Silage to Feed. — Much difference 
of opinion exists as to the quantities of silage that 
may be fed with advantage. Some authorities claim 
that it may be made the sole food of animals for 
weeks and months in succession. That is not the 
view of the Author. Much of course will depend 
upon the character of the silage. When it has been 
w^ell preserved, the silage is not markedly acid, but 
it is acid in some degree. Now that is not the con- 
dition in which nature provides green food for live 
stock, hence it does not seem wise to confine animals 
to a diet so acid. To test this question, the Authon 
fed steers that were being fattened on silage and 
meal for a period averaging about 140 days and 
during three successive experiments. 

These experiments were conducted at the gov- 
ernment experiment station at Guelph, Ontario, 
Can. The first experiment began in the autumn 
of 1889. Two steers were thus fed each winter. 
They were pitted against an equal number of steers 
that were fed meal, an average of thirt3^-three pounds 
of corn silage per day and all the cut hay they would 
eat in addition. A third lot of two steers were fed 
meal, cut hay and field roots. The amount of meal 
fed was practically the same in each instance. Of 
the six steers that were fed all the silage they would 
consume in addition to the meal, two died before the 
experiments were completed. The veterinarian of 
the station reported that death resulted from serious 
derangement in the digestive organs caused by the 
acid in the silage. More or less trouble was also 



FEEDING SILAGE. 357 

experienced with all the steers confined to the ration 
of meal and silage. They occasionally got ''off their 
feed." The steers fed on the ration of meal, hay 
and roots were uniformly healthy and hearty 
throughout the experiment. With silage less acid, 
the fatal results chronicled might not have occurred. 
But since the silage fed was quite as well preserved 
as corn silage usually is, the inference would seem 
fair that there is an element of danger in feeding 
silage in unlimited quantities to farm animals for 
months in succession. The full details of these 
experiments are given in Bulletins XLIX, LXI and 
LXXXII, issued by the aforementioned station. 

While it is impossible to state definitely how 
much silage may be fed for a prolonged period to 
cattle without crossing the danger line, in the judg- 
ment of the Author it is questionable if the amount 
fed daily to a mature breeding animal of the bovine 
species should exceed thirty to forty pounds per day. 
Of course for a limited period it may be safe to feed 
larger quantities, and it is possible that larger quan- 
tities than those named have been fed to breeding 
animals for a period somewhat prolonged without 
any apparent harm. Nevertheless, the conclusion 
would seem fair that there is an element of danger 
in feeding silage in unlimited quantities to animals 
for months in succession. The most intelligent 
feeders concur in this view, and it finds farther 
countenance in the craving which domestic animals 
manifest for a certain proportion of dry fodder while 
silage is being fed to them in large quantities. 

Four to five pounds per day may be named as 
the maximum amounts to be fed to breeding ewes 



358 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

for months in succession, but it is possible, and 
indeed, it may be commendable to feed larger quan- 
tities for a limited period. 

Any kind of fodder that is palatable and well 
preserved may be fed along with the silage. But 
when practicable the fodder thus given should be 
made as far as possible to give the entire ration the 
desired balance or equilibrium as to food nutrients. 
For instance, when corn silage is being fed, clover 
in any of its forms will make a ration more nearly 
balanced than would be obtained from feeding dry 
fodder, the product of corn, sorghum or any of the 
non-saccharine sorghums. 

Feeding Grain or Meal zvith Silage. — Addi- 
tional meal is frequently given to animals that are 
receiving silage. In all such instances the silage 
furnishes an excellent medium with which to feed 
the meal. It is the practice with some to mix the 
meal with the silage in a feed room before feeding 
the mixture. But the extra labor thus involved does 
not seem to be necessary, unless when other cut 
fodder is also to be mixed with the silage. The 
method of placing the silage in the feed manger and 
then scattering the meal over it is simpler, and it is 
probably quite as efficacious. The animals mix the 
food measurably well while in the act of eating it. 
When the meal is fed thus, different quantities of the 
same or different kinds of meal may be fed as may 
be desired to the individual animals. Such varia- 
tions in feeding the meal cannot be so well made, 
if indeed made at all, when the meal and silage are 
mixed in the feed room. When other cut fod- 
der is fed it would probably involve less labor 



FEEDING SILAGE. 359 

to feed the silage and other fodder separately. 
This at least would sometimes be true. In such 
instances, the meal should be fed with the other 
fodder to induce a greater consumption of the 
same. Silage is more appetizing as a rule than 
other cut food, especially when the latter is fed m 
the dry form, hence it will usually be eaten with 
avidity without being admixed with meal. This is 
not true of some kinds of dry fodder, nor is it true 
probably to the same extent of any kind of fodder. 
When feeding meal along with silage, the 
amount of grain that the silage may contain should 
be considered, and the amount of the meal fed regu- 
lated accordingly. For instance, while it may be 
necessary to feed ten pounds of silage daily to dairy 
cows receiving a large proportion of corn silage 
which has little or no grain in it, that amount might 
prove excessive when the corn silage contains rela- 
tively a large proportion of grain. It is practically 
impossible to know exactly the proportion of the 
grain which the silage contains, but a sufficiently 
approximate estimate may be made by the prac- 
ticed feeder. 

Attention should also be given to the constitu- 
ents of the meal fed so as to balance the ration. 
For instance, should the silage contain much of the 
seed of the soy bean, it would be proper to add corn, 
or some other carbonaceous meal, with much free- 
dom. But if, on the other hand, it should contain 
much corn and no other grain, it would be in order 
to add much bran or other nitrogenous meal. 

Feeding Silage with Field Roots.— It is not 
common to feed silage and field roots together, for 



360 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

the reason chiefly that farmers do not commonly 
grow both crops to any considerable extent the same 
season. In some degree at least these foods serve 
the same end, that is to say, they furnish succulent 
food for animals at a season of the year when it 
cannot usually be obtained from other sources. Both 
are favorable to milk production, and when fed in 
moderation both serve as regulators of digestion. 
Field roots contain less dry matter, but they are 
considered, all in all, a more healthful food than 
silage. The}^ are also looked upon as being more 
favorable to the robust development of young stock. 
But it is commonly believed that the cost of growing 
held roots is relatively greater. There does not 
seem to be much reason, therefore, for growing both 
foods in large quantities. Which of the two should 
be given the preference ought to be determined 
largely by the more favorable character of the con- 
ditions for growing one or the other. When both 
are grown, there is no reason why they should not 
be fed to the same animals, regulating the quantity 
of each accordingly. W^hen both are fed, the plan 
of feeding silage in the morning and roots in the 
evening, or vice versa, will be found labor-saving as 
compared with feeding both twice a day, and the end 
sought should be realized as effectively. 

When to Feed Silage. — When a large quantity 
of silage is being fed it should be given in two feeds 
daily, that is to say, morning and evening. When 
meal is to be fed twice a day, it may be well also to 
feed the silage twice a day, that the silage may be 
fed along with the meal as previously intimated. 
But when only a small quantity of silage is to be fed 



FEEDING SILAGE. 36 1 

and no meal, the result from feeding only once a day 
will probably be quite as satisfactory as from feeding 
twice. The silage is usually fed before the bulky 
food, since the latter is the unlimited factor in 
the ration. 

Some forethought should be exercised in adjust- 
ing the quantities of silage fed to the prospective 
needs of the animals. For instance, if the feeder 
has been feeding a certain amount of food daily, and 
if he has reason to fear that by continuing to feed 
thus the supply of silage will fail before the new 
grass is plentiful, it would be better to reduce the 
quantity of silage fed daily than to have the silage 
fall short before the period indicated. While green 
food is always more or less helpful in regulating 
digestion when dry food is being fed, it is never 
more helpful than toward the approach of spring. 
The system of the animals is much prone to become 
weakened at such a time, more especially in cold 
latitudes, hence the greater need for the adjustment 
of the food to the requirements of these under the 
conditions just named. 

From what has been said it will be evident ; first, 
that much has been learned during recent years with 
reference to silos and the making of silage ; second, 
that when silage is properly cured and fed it is an 
economical and health-producing food; and third, 
that because of its economy and healthfulness this 
mode of preserving food is likely to grow in favor. 
Nevertheless, it ought to be borne in mind that many 
things are yet to be learned about silos and ensiling 
food in the same. The system is yet in the infantile 
stage. Many features of the work have not yet been 



362 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 

fully wrought out, and prominent among these are 
the construction of silos that will be sufficiently 
durable, and the making of good silage with reason- 
able certainty from other products than corn. 



INDEX 



Alfalfa 

discussion of 

distribution of 

soils for 

place in the rotation for 
preparing the soil for . . 
fertilizers for 



sowing 

cultivation 

feeding as soiling food 

for silage 

Alsike clover 

for soiling 

for silage 

Antiquity of siloing 

Artichokes 

Benefits from growing soiling 
crops 

from siloing crops 

Brassica genus, plants of the 139 

introductory remarks 

rape 

Cabbage 

discussion of 154 

distribution of 

soils for 

place in the rotation of 

preparing the soil for 

fertilizers for 

sowing 

cultivation 

feeding 

Cereals (wheat, oats, barley, 
and rye) 

discussion of 168 

distribution of 

soils for 

place in the rotation for .... 

preparing the soil for 

fertilizers for 



sowing . . . 
cultivation 



feeding as soiling food 

for silage 

Clover 

discussion of 68 

medium red 

mammoth 

alsike 

crimson or scarlet 



86 

86 

89 

90 

92 

93 

95 

96 

97 

98 

330 

69 

84 

330 

248 

226 

6 

258 
■167 
139 
139 
154 
167 
157 
157 
158 
159 
160 
161 
164 
165 



PAGE. 

Clover — Continued. 

alfalfa 86 

distribution of 71 

soils for 73 

place in the rotation for 74 

preparing the soil for 76 

fertilizers for 78 

sowing 79 

cultivation 84 

feeding, as soiling food 84 

for silage 330 

Common cereals 168-182 

Common vetch 110-118 

Corn, Indian or maize 

discussion of 19-33 

distribution of 21 

soils for 21 

place in the rotation for 22 

preparing the soil for 2;^ 

fertilizers for 24 

sowing 24 

cultivation 29 

feeding, as soiling food 30 

for silage 323 

Cowpea 

discussion of " 128-138 

distribution of 131 

soils for i . . 132 

. place in the rotation for .... 132 

preparing the soil for 133 

fertilizers for 133 

sowing 134 

cultivation 136 

feeding, as soiling food 136 

for silage 327 

Crimson or scarlet clover 69 

Crops for soiling 3 

Crops suitable for the silo 

discussion of 322 

corn 323 

sorghum 325 

non-saccharine sorghums .... 327 
leguminous plants other than 

clover 327 

field peas 327 

common vetch 327 

soy bean 327 

cowpea _. . . . 327 

plants of the clover family.. 330 
medium red 330 



363 



3^4 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Plants of the clover family — 
Continued. 

mammoth 330 

alsike 330 

alfalfa 330 

millets 331 

the common cereals 332 

field roots 333 

rape 334 

sunflowers 335 

Dhourra 54 

Distribution of silos 266 

Ensilage or silage (definition) . . 246 
Ensiling or siloing (definition) .248 
Facts relating to silo construc- 
tion 269 

Feeding silage 350 

when it may begin 350 

feed from top downward .... 350 
feeding from a part of the 

surface 352 

conveying silage to the animals 353 
carrying silage over to an- 
other season 354 

adaptation to different classes 

of animals 354 

quantities of silage to feed . . .356 
feeding grain or meal with 

silage 358 

feeding silage v/ith field 

roots 359 

when to feed silage 360 

Field Peas 

discussion of 102-110 

distribution of 104 

soils for 104 

place in the rotation for .... 105 

preparing the soil for 105 

fertilizers for 106 

sowing 106 

citltivation 108 

feeding, as soiling food 109 

for silage 327 

Field Roots 

discussion of 195-204 

rutabagas 196 

turnips 196 

mangels 197 

sugar beets 197 

carrots 197 

distribution of 196 

soils for 197 

place in the rotation for 198 

preparing the soil for 199 

fertilizers for 200 

sowing 200 

cultivation 202 

feeding, as soiling food .... 203 

for silage 333 

Filling the silo 336 

stage of harvesting crops for 

the silo 336 

cutting crops for the silo .... 338 
conveying crops to the silo . . . 339 



PAGE. 

Filling the silo— Continued . 

putting crops into the silo . . . 340 

putting the food into the silo . 342 

covering the silage 345 

Flat pea 220 

Grouping states and provinces. . 234 

Kistory of siloing 245 

Horse Bean 

for soiling 213 

for silage 329 

Japan clover 209 

Jerusalem corn 54 

Kafiir corn 51 

Kale 216 

Leguminous plants other than 

clover 102 

for soiling 102 

for silage 327 

The common vetch 

for soiling no 

for silage 327 

The soy bean 

for soiling 126 

for silage 327 

The cowpea 

for soiling 136 

for silage 327 

Lupines 224 

A[ammoth clover 

for soiling 84 

for silage 330 

Mangels 197 

Medium red clover 

for soiling 84 

for silage 330 

Millets 

discussion and classification 

^.of 183-194 

distribution of 185 

soils for 187 

place in the rotation for .... 188 

preparing the soil for 189 

fertilizers for 190 

sowing 191 

cultivation 192 

feeding as soiling food 193 

for silage 331 

Milo maize 52 

Miscellaneous plants 205-231 

white clover 205 

sweet clover 207 

Japan clover 209 

sainfoin 21D 

trefoil or yellow clover 212 

horse bean 213 

velvet bean 214 

kale 216 

sand vetch 217 

flat pea 220 

white mustard 222 

lupine 224 

spurry 225 

artichokes 226 

prickly comf rey 226 



INDEX. 



365 



PAGE. 

Miscellaneous plants — Continued. 

sunflower 230 

sacaline 230 

Mustard, white 222 

Non-saccharine sorghums 

discussion of S"^-^? 

kafiir corn 51 

milo maize 52 

dhourra , 54 

Jerusalem corn 54 

teosinte 56 

distribution of 58 

soils for 61 

place in the rotation for 62 

preparing the soil for 63 

fertilizers for 64 

sowing 64 

cultivation •••_•_ 66 

feeding, as soiling food 67 

for silage 327 

Objections to soiling 15 

Peas, field - 102-110 

Preserving green crops without 

the silo 347 

prickly comfrey 226 

Rape 

discussion of 139-154 

distribution of 142 

soils for 143 

place in the rotation for 144 

preparing the soil for 145 

fertilizers for 146 

sowing _ 147 

cultivation 149 

feeding, as soiling food 150 

for silage 334 

Rectangular silo 310 

introductory remarks 310 

foundation 310 

sills 311 

floor 3" 

studs 312 

inner lining 3^3 

outer lining 314 

partitions 3^5 

corners 315 

doors 315 

roof 316 

Red clover, medium 68 

Roots, field 195-204 

Round wooden silo 292 

Rutabagas 196 

Sacaline 230 

Sainfoin 210 

Sand vetch 217 

Scarlet or crimson clover 69 

Silage or ensilage (definition) . . 246 
Silo 

early 250 

modern _. 251 

not always a necessity 265 

distribution of 266 

division No. i — distribution in 267 



Silo — Continued. 

division No. 2 — distribution in 267 
division No. 3 — distribution in 267 
construction, facts relating to.. 269 

locating the silo . 269 

forms of construction 272 

size 274 

materials used in 277 

metals 278 

concrete or grout 278 

brick 279 

stone 279 

v;ood 280 

foundations 280 

floors 281 

linings 282 

boards 282 

cement 283 

water lime 283 

plaster 284 

shingles ■ 284 

bricks 284 

metals 284 

tarred paper 285 

preservatives for lining 285 

partitions in silos 286 

doors in silos 288 

roofing silos 288 

decay in silos 289 

building the silo 292 

round wooden silo 292 

round frame 293 

stave silo 295 

rectangular silo 310 

stone silo 3t^7 

crops suitable for the silo. . . . 322 

filling the silo 336 

feeding silage 350 

Siloing or ensiling (definition) . .248 

Siloing crops, benefits from . . . 258 

wholesale harvesting of crops 258 

cured in showery weather.... 259 

green food all the year 259 

food m.ore palatable 261 

economy in storage place .... 262 
economy in labor when feed- 
ing •.••••■• ^^^ 

practical considerations 263 

benefits do not apply equally.. 263 
silos not always a necessity . . 265 

Siloing, history of 245 

plan of the discussion 245 

definition of terms 246 

ensilage or silage 246 

siloing or ensiling 248 

siloist 248 

antiquity of siloing 248 

utilization of the idea 249 

the earlier silos 250 

the modern silo 251 

American progress in siloing.. 253 
mistakes made by early siloists 253 

literature on the silo 254 

Siloist (definition) 248 



3b6 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Soiling crops, benefits from 

growing 6 

Soiling crops 3 

adaptation in soiling crops ... 4 
partial and complete soiling . . 4 
benefits from growing soiling 

crops 6 

increase in food supplies 6 

less waste in feeding 7 

sustains animals in better form. 8 
inquiry through poaching .... 11 
influence on weed eradication. . 11 

saving in land 12 

saving in fences 13 

saving in fertility 14 

increase in animal production. . 14 
sustaining the family cow .... 15 
some objections to the soiling 

system 15 

increased outlay for labor .... 15 

tax on attendants 17 

adjusting food supplies 17 

impaired stamina in the stock. . 18 

Sorghum 

discussion of 34-50 

distribution of 37 

soils for 35 

place in the rotation for 38 

preparing the soil for 39 

fertilizers for 41 

sowing- 42 

cultivation 46 

feeding, as soiling food 47 

for silage 325 

Soy bean 

discussion of 1 18-128 

distribution of 121 

soils for 122 

place in the rotation for 123 

preparing the soil for 124 

fertilizers for 124 

sowing 1 24 

cultivation 126 

feeding as soiling food 126 

for silage 327 

&purry 225 

Stave silo 295 

foundation 297 

floor 299 

staves 299 

setting up staves 300 



PAGE. 

Stave silo — Continued. 

splicing staves 301 

hoops, round 302 

flat 304 

woven wire 304 

doors 305 

shute 307 

roof 30& 

Stone silos 317 

form of construction 318 

foundation 318 

floor 319 

walls 319 

inner lining 319 

outer lining 320 

roof 320 

doors 32: 

Succession in soiling crops. .232-242 

introductory remarks 232 

grouping states and provinces. 234 

section No. i — succession in. . 235 

section No. 2 — succession in.. 236 

section No. 3 — succession in.. 237 

section No. 4 — succession in.. 238 

section No. 5 — succession in.. 239 

section No. 6 — succession in.. 240 

section No. 7 — succession in.. 240 

section No. 8 — succession in.. 241 

Sugar beets 197 

vSunflowers 230 

Sweet clover 207 

Teosinte 56 

Trefoil or yellow clover 212 

Turnips 196 

Velvet bean 214 

Vetch, the common 

discussion of 110-118 

distribution of 1 1 1 

soils for 112 

place in the rotation for . . , .- 112 

preparing the soil for 113 

fertilizers for 113 

sowing 114 

cultivation 116 

feeding, as soiling food 117 

for silage 327 

Vetch, sand 217 

Weeds eradication of, by soiling. . 11 

White clover 205 

White mustard 222 

Yellow clover or trefoil 21;: 



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the special subjects of drainage of which it treats. Cloth, 
12mo. $1.00 

Henderson's Practical Floriculture. 

By Peter Henderson. A guide to the successful propaga- 
tion and cultivation of florists' plants. The work is not 
one for florists and gardeners only, but the amateur's 
wants are constantly kept in mind, and we have a very 
complete treatise on the cultivation of flowers under 
glass, or in the open air, suited to those who grow flowers 
for pleasure as well as those who make them a matter 
of trade. Beautifully illustrated. New and enlarged 
edition. Cloth, 12mo $1.50 

Tobacco Leaf. 

By J. B. Killebrew and Herbert Myrick. Its Culture 
and Cure, Marketing and Manufacture. A practical 
handbook on the most approved methods in growing, 
harvesting, curing, packing, and selling tobacco, with an 
account of the operations in every department of tobacco 
manufacture. The contents of this book are based on 
actual experiments in field, curing barn, packing house, 
factory and laboratory. It is the only work of the kind 
in existence, and is destined to be the standard practical 
and scientific authority on the whole subject of tobacco 
for many years. Upwards of fiOO pages and 150 original 
eng:ravings. $2.00 



STANDARD BOOKS. 



Play and Profit in My Garden. 



By E. P. Roe. The author takes us to his garden on 
the rocky hillsides in the vicinity of West Point, and 
shows us how out of it, after four years' experience, he 
evoked a profit of $1,000, and this while carrying on pas- 
toral and literary labor. It is very rarely that so much 
literary taste and skill are mated to so much agricultural 
experience and good sense. Cloth, 12mo. . . $1.00 

Forest Planting:. 

By H. Nicholas Jarchow, LL. D. A treatise on the care 
of woodlands and the restoration of the denuded timber- 
lands on plains and mountains. The author has fully 
described those European methods which have proved 
to be most useful in maintaining the superb forests of the 
old world. This experience has been adapted to the dif- 
ferent climates and trees of America, full instructions 
being given for forest planting of our various kinds of 
soil and subsoil, whether on mountain or valley. 
Illustrated, 12mo $1.50 

Soils and Crops of the Farm. 

By George E. Morrow, M. A., and Thomas P. Hunt. The 
methods of making available the plant food in the soil 
are described in popular language. A short history of 
each of the farm crops is accompanied by a discussion 
of its culture. The useful discoveries of science are 
explained as applied in the most approved methods of 
culture. Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo $1.00 

American Fruit Culturist. 

By John J. Thomas. Containing practical directions for 
the propagation and culture of all the fruits adapted to 
the United States. Twentieth thoroughly revised and 
greatly enlarged edition by Wm. H. S. Wood. This new 
edition makes the work practically almost a new book, 
containing everything pertaining to large and small 
fruits as well as sub-tropical and tropical fruits. Richly 
Illustrated by nearly 800 engravings. 758 pp., 12mo. $2.50 

Fertilizers. 

By Edward B. Voorhees, director of the New Jersey Agri- 
cultural ExDeriment Station. It has been the aim of 
the author to point out the underlying principles and to 
discuss the important subjects connected with the use 
of fertilizer materials. The natural fertility of the soil, 
the functions of manures and fertilizers, and the need 
of artificial fertilizers are exhaustively discussed. Sepa- 
rate chapters are devoted to the various fertilizing ele- 
ments, to the purchase chemical analyses, methods of 
using fertilizers, and the best fertilizers for each of the 
most important field, garden and orchard crops. 
335 pp $1.00 



STANDARD BOOKS. 



Gardening: for Profit. 

By Peter Henderson. The standard work on market and 
family g-ardeiiing-. The successful experience of the author 
for more than thirty years, and his willingness to tell, 
as he does m this work, the secret of his success for 
the benefit of others, enables him to give most valuable 
information. The book is profusely illustrated. Cloth, 
12mo. $1.50 

Herbert's Hints to Horse Keepers. 

By the late Henry William Herbert (Frank Forester). 
This is one of the best and most popular works on the 
horse prepared in this country. A complete manual for 
horsemen, emibracing: How to breed a horse; how to buy 
a horse; hov/ to break a horse; how to use a horse; how 
to feed a horse; how to physic a horse (allopathy or ho- 
moeopathy); how to groom a horse; how to drive a horse; 
how to ride a horse, etc. Beautifully illustrated. Cloth, 
12mo. . . . . , $1.50 



Barn Plans and Outl5uildin§:s. 



Two hundred and fifty-seven illustrations. A most val- 
uable work, full of ideas, hints, suggestions, plans, etc., 
for the construction of barns and outbuildings, by prac- 
tical writers. ChaDters are devoted to the economic 
erection and use of barns, grain barns, house barns, 
cattle barns, sheep barns, corn houses, smoke houses, 
ice houses, pig pens, granaries, etc. There are likewise 
chapters on bird houses, dog houses, tool sheds, ventila- 
tors, roofs and roofing, doors and fastenings, workshops, 
poultry houses, manure sheds, barnyards, root pits, etc. 
Cloth, 12mo, $1.00 

Cranberry Culture. 

By Joseph J. White. Contents: Natural history, history 
of cultivation, choice of location, preparing the ground, 
planting the vines, management of meadows, fiooding, 
enemies and diflSculties overcome, picking, keeping, pro- 
fit and loss. Cloth, 12mo $1.00 

Ornamental Gardening: for Americans. 

By Elias A. Long, landscape architect. A treatise on 
beautifying homes, rural districts and cemeteries. A. 
plain and practical work with numerous illustrations anu 
instructions so plain that they may be readily followed. 
Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo $1.50 

Grape Culturist. 

By A. S. Fuller. This is one of the very best of works 
on the culture of the hardy grapes, with full directions 
for all departments of propagation, culture, etc., with 
150 excellent engravings, illustrating planting, training, 
grafting, etc. Cloth. 12mo. ...... $1.50 





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